Genetic characterization of Colombian indigenous sheep

Abstract

Background: indigenous breeds are important for poor farmers because of their natural selection against harsh environments and adaptation to regional conditions. However, inbreeding of indigenous sheep populations has increased in Colombia due to indiscriminate cross-breeding with foreign animals and lack of reproductive controls, with subsequent loss in productivity, which poses a great risk for the conservation of valuable genes. Objective: to determine the genetic diversity in Colombian indigenous sheep by using a panel of 10 microsatellite molecular markers. Methods: blood samples from 362 individuals from 43 farms in 11 Colombian provinces were genotyped and analyzed for a panel of 10 microsatellite markers. Results: a total of 134 alleles were found (13.4 alleles/locus on average) with a range of observed and expected heterozygosity of 0.428 to 0.831 and 0.615 to 0.855, respectively, and 0.742 polymorphic information content (PIC). The average Wright F-statistics (F IS ) of the breeds was 0.107, suggesting moderate levels of inbreeding. Colombian sheep showed a low level of genetic differentiation among breeds (F ST = 0.054) and STRUCTURE analysis showed complex patterns of admixture in the breeds. Conclusion: overall, Colombian sheep have high genetic variability, which is very important for future conservation programs and genetic improvement.

Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses unveil the genetic structure of native sheep breeds from three major agro-ecological regions of India

“…F ST values of the examined Indian sheep breeds were comparable to those reported for Baltic, Chiapas, and Akkarman sheep 33 . However, it was much higher than the F ST values reported for several others like Spanish, European, Middle Eastern, Colombian, Pakistani, and Romanian sheep breeds 30,32,37 . Much lower differentiation (5.6-5.9%) has been reported in Indian sheep breeds of SP region 15,27 .…”

Genetic variability analysis of 26 sheep breeds in the Czech Republic

“…Individual variation affected 83.2% of total diversity, and 16.8% of genetic similarity was caused by inter-population reduction in heterozygosity. Genetic differentiation among the analysed breeds was higher than that reported in five Moroccan sheep breeds (3.6%; Gaouar et al, 2016), Saudi Arabia sheep (3.6 %; Mahmoud et al, 2020), three Colombian indigenous sheep (5.4 %; Ocampo et al, 2017) and 10 Iranian fat-tailed breeds (2 %; Vahidi et al, 2016). Our results are similar to values reported for breeds reared in Kosovo and Albania (13.9 %; Hoda and Bytyqi, 2017), Namaqua Afrikaner sheep from South Africa (10.6 %; Qwabe et al, 2013), or to a comparative study focused on Punjab Urial sheep (15.9 %; Pichler et al, 2017).…”

Genetic Diversity Assessed by Pedigree Analysis in the Blanco Orejinegro (Bon) Cattle Breed Population From the Colombian Germplasm Bank

“…In Colombia, due to the existence of a great variety of agroclimatic regions, the development of a high diversity of native animal and plant species has been favored, including seven Creole cattle breeds as well as three sheep and three swine breeds (Ocampo et al, 2017).…”