GENETIC DIVERSITY OF FIVE POPULATIONS OF THE NIGERIAN LOCAL BREEDS OF GOAT USING RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) MARKERS

📄 Project Abstract

Nigeria is a country with heavy human population of about 168.8 million (U.S.C.B., 2012), and this population is continuously on the increase. The increase has led to the high demand for the available animal and animal products in all parts of the country, to meet up with the minimum animal protein requirement per individual per day. The protein intake of an average Nigeria is 45.5g per head per day as against the Food and Agricultural Organization's recommended minimum intake of 70g per head per day, of which 35g should be of animal source (FAOSTAT, 2010). The inadequate supply of animal protein in Nigeria can be attributed to inadequate production potentials of the most common sources of meat which include poultry, goat, cattle, pig, sheep, rabbit etc. Gambo et al. (2004) reported that among the cheapest and mostly affordable protein source for this ever increasing population is mainly the poultry products and chevrons (goat meat). Goat (Capra hircus) is one of the smallest domestica...