Phenotypic and genetic characterization of thanjavur black goats

Abstract

A Thanjavur Black goat is a medium-sized black goat of Thanjavur and adjacent districts of Tamil Nadu. The present study was carried out in 250 goat flocks (A total of 1455 goats including 129 bucks, 536 does and 790 kids) in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Tiruchirappalli and Pudukkottai districts of Tamil Nadu. Flock size, composition, morphological traits, morphometric traits, production and reproduction performance, husbandry practices and the socio- economic profile of the farmers were collected through a pretested interview schedule. Data on phenotypic traits, morphometric measurements and body weights of different age groups (birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months and 2, 4, 6-tooth and full mouth) were collected in both sexes as per the breed descriptors of the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR, 2016). Data on the reproduction traits of bucks and does and carcass traits were recorded by observation and information provided by the farmers. Molecular characterization was carried out with 50 blood samples collected from unrelated individuals of both sexes of Thanjavur Black goats and genotyped with 25 FAO recommended newline newline newlinemicrosatellite markers. The breeding tract was wide, diverse and distributed widely throughout the Cauvery Delta region of Tamil Nadu. The highest number of morphologically similar animals was distributed in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Tiruchirappalli and Pudukkottai districts. The average flock size of Thanjavur Black goats was 13.39± 0.38, which comprised of 1.96 ± 0.08 buck, newline6.87 ± 0.25 doe and 4.57 ± 0.18 kids. Thanjavur Black Goats is a compact, medium-sized black goat and is popularly called Karuppukuttaiadu or NattuAdu in vernacular language (Tamil) throughout the breeding tract. newlineKey Words: Microsatellite markers, Molecular characterization, Morphometric traits, Phenotypic traits, Thanjavur, Thanjavur Black goats.