Carbonic anhydrase (Ca) polymorphism in Fulani and Yoruba adult local chickens of both sexes comprising of 50 Fulani Ecotype chicken from Gaa Fulani of Irepodun Local Government in Kwara State and 50 Yoruba Ecotype Chickens collected from backyard poultry farmer in Ilorin South Local Government of Kwara State, Nigeria was determined using cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Blood samples were collected from one hundred local chickens. Population parameters were estimated using PopGen 32.0 software. The result obtained indicated that all the protein markers were polymorphic revealing three distinct genotypes of Ca (FF, FS and SS). There were significant differences between Carbonic anhydrase and Body Weight, Body Girth and Wing length. CA was positively significantly correlated with breed type, KL and BG whereas; it was negatively significantly correlated with BW, BL, BW, SKL, WL, BKL, DML and BL. In Function1, the best discriminant contributes to overall body parameters measured is BH with a value of 0.433 followed by KL 0.325 and Bill length 0.588. In Function2, the best discriminant contributes to overall body parameters measured is BG with a value of 0.4601 followed by SL 0.489 and SKL 0.339. Morphological differentiation on cluster classification as displayed by function 1 showed that carbonic anhydrase genotype FF was separated from genotype FS and SS. Prevalence of genotype FF, FS and SS at their respective locus is suggestive of their relevancies to the survival and adaptability of the Fulani and Yoruba chicken studied to its natural habitat.
Important for Nigeria’s local poultry breeding, resilience, and food security. Genetic insights could help improve indigenous breeds’ productivity under local climate conditions.