Native cattle breeds represent an important cultural heritage. They are a reservoir of genetic variation useful for properly responding to agriculture needs in light of ongoing climate changes. Evolutionary processes that occur in response to extreme environmental conditions could also be better understood using adapted local populations. Herein, different evolutionary histories of the world northernmost native cattle breeds from Russia were investigated. They highlighted Kholmogory as a typical taurine cattle, while Yakut cattle separated from European taurines ∼5,000 years ago and contain numerous ancestral and some novel genetic variants allowing their adaptation to harsh conditions of living above the Polar Circle. Scans for selection signatures pointed to several common gene pathways related to adaptation to harsh climates in both breeds. But genes affected by selection from these pathways were mostly different. A Yakut cattle breed-specific missense mutation in a highly conserved NRAP gene, represents a unique example of a young amino acid residue convergent change shared with at least 16 species of hibernating/cold-adapted mammals from six distinct phylogenetic orders. This suggests a convergent evolution event along the mammalian phylogenetic tree and fast fixation in a single isolated cattle population exposed to a harsh climate.

Comparison of genomic footprints in chicken breeds with different selection history is a powerful tool in elucidating genomic regions that have been targeted by recent and more ancient selection. In the present work, we aimed at examining and comparing the trajectories of artificial selection in the genomes of the native egg-type Russian White (RW) and meat-type White Cornish (WC) breeds. Combining three different statistics (top 0.1% SNP by FST value at pairwise breed comparison, hapFLK analysis, and identification of ROH island shared by more than 50% of individuals), we detected 45 genomic regions under putative selection including 11 selective sweep regions, which were detected by at least two different methods. Four of such regions were breed-specific for each of RW breed (on GGA1, GGA5, GGA8, and GGA9) and WC breed (on GGA1, GGA5, GGA8, and GGA28), while three remaining regions on GGA2 (two sweeps) and GGA3 were common for both breeds. Most of identified genomic regions overlapped with known QTLs and/or candidate genes including those for body temperatures, egg productivity, and feed intake in RW chickens and those for growth, meat and carcass traits, and feed efficiency in WC chickens. These findings were concordant with the breed origin and history of their artificial selection. We determined a set of 188 prioritized candidate genes retrieved from the 11 overlapped regions of putative selection and reviewed their functions relative to phenotypic traits of interest in the two breeds. One of the RW-specific sweep regions harbored the known domestication gene, TSHR. Gene ontology and functional annotation analysis provided additional insight into a functional coherence of genes in the sweep regions. We also showed a greater candidate gene richness on microchromosomes relative to macrochromosomes in these genomic areas. Our results on the selection history of RW and WC chickens and their key candidate genes under selection serve as a profound information for further conservation of their genomic diversity and efficient breeding.

Poaching is one of the major types of wildlife crime in Russia. Remnants of goats (presumably the wild endemic species, the Caucasian tur) were found in an area of the Caucasian mountains. The case study involves a suspected poacher whose vehicle was found to have two duffel bags containing pieces of a carcass, which he claimed was that of a goat from his flock. The aim of the forensic genetic analysis for this case was to (i) establish individual identity and (ii) perform species identification. DNA typing based on fourteen microsatellites revealed that STR-genotypes generated from pieces of evidence found at crime scene fully matched those obtained from the evidence seized from the suspect. The results of genome-wide SNP-genotyping, using Illumina Goat SNP50 BeadChip, provided evidence that the poached animal was a wild Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica). Thus, based on comprehensive molecular genetic analysis, evidence of poaching was obtained and sent to local authorities. To our knowledge, this case study is the first to attempt to use DNA chips in wildlife forensics of ungulates.

Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica) is native to Greater Caucasus Mountain Chain from Azerbaijan and Georgia in the East to Krasnodar region of Russia in the West. This species is divided into two subspecies (by some authors into species)—East-Caucasian tur and West-Caucasian tur and a subpopulation referred to as Mid-Caucasian tur. Up to date most of the genetic studies of Caucasian tur are based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and comprehensive investigation based on nuclear DNA is required for clarification of its genetic diversity and population structure. In our work, we assessed the applicability of Illumina Goat SNP50 BeadChip for genetic studies of Caucasian tur. Total of 15 specimens of Capra caucasica including East-Caucasian tur from Dagestan (E_TUR, n = 5), West-Caucasian tur from Karachay-Cherkessia (W_TUR, n = 5), and Mid-Caucasian tur from Kabardino-Balkaria (M_TUR, n = 5) were genotyped. After quality control, 5544 polymorphic loci, which were distributed all over 29 autosomes, were detected. The lowest number of SNPs was found on the 25th chromosome—68, and the highest on the 1st chromosome—348. It was shown that all the three groups of Caucasian tur clustered separately. A total of 2061 SNPs were common for all the populations, 594 were found only in W_TUR, 689 in E_TUR, and 530 in M_TUR. Individual heterozygosity ranged from 0.273 to 0.282 in W_TUR, from 0.217 to 0.253 in E_TUR, and from 0.255 to 0.283 in M_TUR. A clinal pattern of genetic variation was revealed. It was suggested to consider Caucasian tur a single species with several ecotypes. Thus, in our study we demonstrated that the Illumina Goat SNP50 BeadChip developed for domestic goats can be used as a useful tool for genetic studies of Caucasian tur.

Currently, the intraspecific taxonomy of snow sheep (Ovis nivicola) is controversial and needs to be specified using DNA molecular genetic markers. In our previous work using whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, we found that the population inhabiting Kharaulakh Ridge was genetically different from the other populations of Yakut subspecies to which it was usually referred. Here, our study was aimed at the clarification of taxonomic status of Kharaulakh snow sheep using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. A total of 87 specimens from five different geographic locations of Yakut snow sheep as well as 20 specimens of other recognized subspecies were included in this study. We identified 19 haplotypes, two of which belonged to the population from Kharaulakh Ridge. Median-joining network and Bayesian tree analyses revealed that Kharaulakh population clustered separately from all the other Yakut snow sheep. The divergence time between Kharaulakh population and Yakut snow sheep was estimated as 0.48 ± 0.19 MYA. Thus, the study of the mtDNA cytb sequences confirmed the results of genome-wide SNP analysis. Taking into account the high degree of divergence of Kharaulakh snow sheep from other groups, identified by both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers, we propose to classify the Kharaulakh population as a separate subspecies.