Pigeons (Columba livia) have long history of selective breeding for many purposes; one of them is pigeon racing
using their homing ability. A total of 221 pigeon samples were sequenced for lactate dehydrogenase-A gene (LDHA)
including part of exon 5 and part of exon 6 and intervening intron 5. Six polymorphic sites were identified in intron
5; one indel and five SNPs. Statistical significant differences in allele frequencies were observed for 595bp and 600bp
alleles between homing and non-homing groups in both Japanese and Egyptian pigeons. The frequency of 600bp
allele was higher in both Japanese and Egyptian homing than in non-homing pigeons (P＜0.0001). In Japanese
pigeons; significant difference in allele frequency of three SNPs was observed between homing and non-homing
groups, while in Egyptian pigeons, although similar tendency was observed, the difference in allele frequency was not
significant. The DNA polymorphisms of pigeon LDH-A gene can be a potential genetic marker for homing ability in
racing pigeon breeding.