The maintenance of genetic diversity is a key to the long-term survival of most species. Changthangi goats of Ladakh is known for producing finest cashmere fibre in the world and these goats sustain the economy of thousands of Changpa nomads of Ladakh. In the present study we have used 15 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers (ISAG-FAO) in 232 randomly selected Changthangi goats from 7 different clusters of Ladakh. The average observed homozygosity and heterozygosity was 0.25 and 0.75 respectively. The overall mean of Shannon’s Information Index for the whole population and polymorphism information content value (PIC) observed was 1.66 and 0.7117 respectively. The mean FIS, FIT and FST values for the whole population are found to be -0.0433, 0.0121 and 0.0531, respectively with a gene flow rate of 4.4601, indicating low level of inbreeding within the population and also point towards low genetic differentiation within the populations. No bottleneck for Changthangi Goat population were seen. Our study shows a highly diverse and adapted Changthangi goat population in the region. The genetic distance computed from the present study can be utilized for implementing a sound future breeding programme for the genetic improvement of this goat.

遗传多样性的维持是大多数物种长期生存的关键。拉达克的昌唐吉山羊以生产世界上最好的羊绒纤维而闻名，这些山羊维持着拉达克数千名昌帕族游牧民族的经济。在本研究中，我们在来自7个不同拉达克群的232个随机选择的Changthangi山羊中使用了15个高度多态性微卫星标记（ISAG-FAO）。平均观察到的纯合性和杂合性分别为0.25和0.75。香农信息指数的总体总体平均值和多态性信息含量值（PIC）分别为1.66和0.7117。发现整个人群的平均FIS，FIT和FST值分别为-0.0433、0.0121和0.0531，基因流速为4.4601，这表明群体内的近交水平较低，也表明群体内的遗传分化程度较低。没有发现昌坦吉山羊种群的瓶颈。我们的研究表明，该地区的昌唐吉山羊种群高度多样且适应性强。从本研究计算出的遗传距离可用于实施合理的未来育种计划，以对该山羊进行遗传改良。