Understanding the Genetic Diversity using mtDNA (COI) of Swamp Buffaloes in Selected Regions of the Philippines

The Philippine swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) are being considered as a single, homogenous breed. This is due to the factor that movement of carabaos within the country for several decades now has been one-directional across the country due to quarantine or sanitary measures. If population stratification will be done among the swamp buffaloes in the Philippines, it might reveal similar genetic characteristics to begin with. Therefore, there is a need to develop means to identify various sub-populations to come up with a distinct swamp buffaloes that could be present in the Philippines.

The initial phase of the project aimed to determine the genotype of native buffaloes in the Philippines using the DNA barcoding mtDNA (COI) population. The use of mtDNA (COI) marker was used to identify haplotypes of populations and to construct an inferred phylogenetic tree. DNA barcodes obtained from 47 native buffaloes from Northern and Central Luzon as well from the Eastern Visayas regions of the Philippines were analyzed  using the Neighbour-joining method based on Kimura 2-parameters model in MEGA6.06.  Results showed that a mean genetic diversity in 564 COI positions within swamp-type Philippine buffaloes was 0.022% (d=0.00022±.00016). The genetic distance among swamp buffaloes was low (i.e., d=0.000-0.00355).  The low genetic divergence estimates suggested close relationships among swamp-type buffaloes across these regions in the country.

The study demonstrated the usefulness of mtDNA (COI) in species identification of native buffaloes which is a decision making tool that can be used to establish herds for live animals that can then be implored in the in-situ conservation of the swamp buffaloes.