Abstract

• The present work was conducted to assess the genetic status of some native Myanmar domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) collected from seven different sites in Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Magway Regions from December, 2016 to March, 2017. In this study, the phylogeographic relationships were investigated by analyzing the hyper variable segment (HVS- 1) in mitochondrial DNA of liver tissue sampled from a total of 20 domestic chickens including pygmy chickens. In a 319 bp fragment of HVS-1 DNA among 20 sequences, 33 variable sites that defined 16 haplotypes were identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four divergent clades (A, B, C and D) with distinct geographic pattern. The clades A, C, D consist of haplotypes only from Central Myanmar, while the clade B is made up of the haplotypes mainly from the Western Myanmar. Central Myanmar clades (A, C and D) contain the haplotypes mainly related to those of Southwest China and/ or surrounding regions (Japan and Indonesia), whereas the clade B clusters with haplotypes from India, and also from China and Japan. Pygmy chicken haplotype, closely related to one Magway haplotype, together cluster in the clade A. Evolutionary divergence (genetic distance) was lower within each clade of A, B, C and D but higher between the four clades. The distinct geographic pattern in the present phylogenetic tree and network suggests that Myanmar chickens have different geographic origins and have maintained their original geographic diversity in their local domestication history.