Cytogenitic Study Of River And Swamp Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalus) In Iraq

The water buffalo is vital to the lives of small farmers and to the economy of many countries worldwide. Not only are they draught animals, but they are also a source of meat, horns, skin and particularly the rich and precious milk that may be converted to creams, butter, yogurt and many cheeses. A total of thirty buffalo (fifteen were river buffalo and fifteen swamp buffalo) from south Iraq (Basrah city) were used in this study. Depending on the feature , morphology and location the animals were classified to do the genetic study. The karyotype of river buffalo 2n = 48 represented by 2 pairs of metacentric chromosomes,4 pairs submetacentric, 17 pairs acrocentric and 1 pair telocentric chromosomes (Figures.3 & 4). While the karyotype of swamp buffalo 2n=50 represented by 1 pair of metacentric chromosomes, 4 pairs submetacentric, 19 pairs acrocentric and 1 pair telocentric chromosomes. These subspecies differ by one chromosome; a fusion between river buffalo (BBU) chromosome 4 and 9 is comparable to swamp buffalo chromosome 1, and all chromosomes and chromosome arms are preserved between these two subspecies.