Characterization of a new potential goat breed (Palamu) from Jharkhand, India

Palamu goat forms the part and parcel of the lives of the farmers and tribes of Jharkhand. Palamu goat also known as Medini is named after its distribution area (Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa) in Jharkhand. This small size goat is reared in Jharkhand since time immemorial. Average flock size is 5.36±0.19 and varies from 1 to 31. Twinning is common except in first kidding. Head profile is convex, ears are pendulous, and horns are straight with backward and upward orientation. Muzzle, eyelids and hooves are black, body is cylindrical, udder is small and pendulous and teats are conical shaped. Age at first mating in males is 8.32±0.86 (months) that vary between 7.2– 9.2 months. Corresponding values for female are 7.22±1.35 months varying between 6.7–7.7 months. Diversity status of the population was explored using 25 microsatellite markers. A total of 190 alleles were detected and sufficient polymorphism was evident from the allele frequency data. ILSTS82 showed the highest number of observed alleles per locus (20) while RM4 and ILSTS05 showed the lowest (4) with 9.14±2.0 as mean number of alleles. Expected number of alleles varied from 1.49 (ILSTS065) to 7.55 (ILSTS30) with the mean value of 4.15±0.91. Palamu goat had substantial genetic variation based on its gene diversity in addition to the average number of alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosity values were 0.64±0.14 and 0.69±0.15, respectively. Observed heterozygosity was lower than expected showing a departure from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) and possibility of inbreeding. Population has heterozygote deficiency to the tune of 9% (FIS value=0.09). Population did not suffer from recent genetic bottleneck (last 40–80 generations). The results suggest existence of a distinct goat population harboring sufficient genetic variation for scientific management.