Abstract
The genetics of pheasant breeds in Chinese farms has not been investigated yet. Understanding their genetic diversity and population structure is important for future advancements in pheasant breeding. In this study, the whole-genome resequencing was used to analyze a total of 352 samples from 5 pheasant species (American pheasant, White pheasant, Green pheasant, Shenhong pheasant, and Fengxian blue pheasant). The average effective population size (Ne) was 45.82. The average of expected heterozygosity (He) and observed heterozygosity (Ho) was 0.28514 and 0.27938, respectively. The Green pheasant had the lowest values of He (0.2730) and Ho (0.2692), whereas Fengxian blue pheasant had the highest values of He (0.2885) and Ho (0.2937), respectively. In addition, the 5 pheasant breeds could be divided into four different genetic populations. A similar genetic structure was also observed between American pheasant and Shenhong pheasant, whereas the other three pheasant breeds (White pheasant, Green pheasant, and Fengxian blue pheasant) exhibited obviously different genetic structures. Further analysis of population structure showed that some individuals among all 5 pheasant breeds had a high genetic distance and weak genetic relationships. A certain degree of inbreeding might exist in the population of White pheasant. Thus, effective breeding and conservation plans should be conducted to retain the genetic distinctiveness for White pheasant. Our data is of great significance for promoting the conservation and development of pheasant genetic resources.