Thi Kim Cuc, N: Vietnamese local chicken breeds

taken from the Genbank which assigned clades to suggested regions of domestication in chickens. Haplotypes of the nine Vietnamese and two NIAS Chinese breeds were aligned together with these sequences. The mtDNA haplotypes formed eight clades. The majority of individuals of the two NIAS Chinese breeds grouped together in one clade. Although the Vietnamese breeds were distributed across all eight clades, most of them clustered in three main clades originating from Yunnan, South and Southwest China and/or surrounding regions. The differentiation of Vietnamese breeds from Chinese chickens was characterised. For this, as reference, data of 14 indigenous breeds from China (Reference Chinese breeds) and three Red Jungle Fowl populations (Gallus gallus gallus and Gallus gallus spadiceus) genotyped at the same microsatellite loci in a previous study were included. Analysing the genetic structure indicated that the Vietnamese breeds formed a homogeneous group separated from the other breeds (except for the Chinese Chahua breed). This finding provides additional evidence that the Vietnamese gene pool is genetically different from the Chinese gene pool even when a wider range of breeds is considered. Another analysis was also used to find the degree of uniqueness of the Vietnamese breeds relative to a set of three Red Jungle fowl populations. Compared to the reference Chinese breeds, the contribution of the Vietnamese breeds to the set of Red Jungle Fowl populations is lower. This suggests that the Vietnamese breeds are more closely related to the Red Jungle fowl populations than the reference Chinese breeds. The second objective of this thesis was to estimate the conservation potential of the Vietnamese breeds and to derive optimal allocation of conservation funds to maximize genetic diversity conserved between these breeds. The Weitzman approach for assessing alternative conservation strategies for genetic diversity between breeds was used. The approach combines genetic diversity assessed at the molecular level and extinction probabilities estimated by socio-economic factors to derive conservation priorities of breeds based on their conservation potential. To investigate an optimal allocation of conservation funds, three different models were applied. These models reflect the range of possible functions between costs and effects in typical conservation situations. Under the assumptions made it is expected that half of the genetic diversity of the Vietnamese breeds will be lost within the next 30-50 years if no conservation efforts are taken. Conservation potential of the Vietnamese chicken breeds varies considerably. The optimum conservation strategy to maximise genetic diversity between the Vietnamese breeds should prioritize the breeds with the highest conservation potential. Population priorities for allocation of conservation funds to the Vietnamese breeds do not depend on which cost model was used. The three local breeds Te, Dong Tao and Ac have the highest conservation potential and should be the prime candidates for conservation programs.