Molecular studies on the Creole cattle breed in Mauritius

There are three main cattle breeds in Mauritius; the Friesian cows, the Creole cows and the Cross (Creole and Friesians) breeds. The main objective of the study was to differentiate the Creole breeds from the other two breeds thus valorizing and conserving the Creole cow which is in danger of extinction. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA and random microsatellite analysis were the two PCR based techniques used. The populations studied consisted of 5 Friesians, 5 Creole breeds and 5 Cross breeds. The breeds were obtained from the Curepipe Livestock Research Station which is the only place where there is a record of Creole cows in Mauritius. Among the 5 Creoles breeds chosen, 2 of them could have been impure breeds due to their morphological characteristics. DNA extraction was carried out from blood taken from the cows selected, and yielded DNA of good quality and quantity. Polymorphic bands were obtained from the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA primers and random microsatellite primers and the data obtained were used for constructing a dendogram. From the dendogram obtained, the breeds were separated and the two Creole samples, which were suspected to be impure, formed different clusters from the true Creole breeds. From the results obtained, the Creole breed was easily distinguishable from the other breeds studied using molecular techniques.