Abstract: Genetic diversity in seven Chinese indigenous sheep breeds was estimated using 26 microsatellite markers. The allele frequency, mean heterozygosity, polymorphism information content, effective number of alleles, genetic distance，and dendrogram analysis were used to assess the genetic variability and genetic relationships among the seven breeds. A total of 278 alleles were detected, and the 26 loci were highly polymorphic. The effective number of alleles ranged from 2.1288 to 13.3924, mean heterozygosity of loci from 0.0629 to 0.5903, mean heterozygosity of breeds from 0.3633 to 0.4489, and polymorphism information content from 0.6628 to 0.8712. In the Neighbor-Joining tree based on Nei′s standard genetic distance, the seven sheep breeds formed two groups: Hazake sheep, Altay Fat-rumped sheep and Bayinbuluke sheep were closely related, then clustered with Baizang sheep and Heizang sheep; and the second group consisted of Hu sheep and Jinzhong sheep. The dendrogram relationship between different sheep breeds was generally in accordance with their origins, breeding history and localities.

Key words: endangered, red list, biodiversity conservation