Origin and domestication history of Peking ducks deltermined through microsatellite and mitochondrial marker analysis.

In order to elucidate the domestication history of Peking ducks, 190 blood samples from six Chinese indigenous duck breeds were collected with 186 individuals genotyped by 15 microsatellite markers. Both the F(ST) and Nei's standard genetic distances (D(s)) from the microsatellite data indicated high genetic differentiation between Peking duck and other Chinese indigenous breeds. The haplotype network with mtDNA data showed that most of the Peking duck haplotypes were distinctly different from those of other domestic breeds. Although the H01 haplotype was shared by all domesticated duck breeds, Peking ducks displayed 12 specific domestic duck haplotypes, including four similar haplotypes H02, H04, H08 and H22, that formed a single haplogroup (A). Both H02 and H22 haplotypes were also shared by mallard and Peking ducks, indicating that Peking ducks originated from wild mallard ducks.