A method for discriminating a Japanese brand of chicken, the Hinai-jidori, using microsatellite markers.

The Hinai-dori is a native breed of chicken from the Akita Prefecture in Japan. A cross between the Hinai-dori and Rhode Island Red breeds has been commercialized as the Hinai-jidori chicken, one of the most popular brands of chicken in Japan. Here, a method of discriminating between the Hinai-jidori and other chickens is described. Individuals (555) of the Hinai-dori breed were analyzed by using 37 microsatellite markers on the Z chromosome. Fourteen of the marker loci (ABR1003, ADL0250, ABR0241, ABR0311, ABR1004, ABR1013, ABR0633, ABR1005, ABR0089, ABR1007, ABR1001, ABR1009, ABR1010, and ABR1011) were fixed in the Hinai-dori breed. So, the Hinai-jidori chicken, F(1) of the Hinai-dori breed, must have at least one of the alleles with all fixed loci. When these alleles on 14 loci from the Hinai-dori breed were not detected in meat samples, it would be judged that the samples were not the Hinai-jidori chicken. Thus, the use of these 14 microsatellite markers provides a practical method of accurately discriminating the Hinai-jidori chicken from other chickens on the market.