Genetic relationships between six eastern Pyrenean sheep breeds assessed using microsatellites

Abstract

The knowledge of the genetic composition and relationships among livestock breeds is a necessary step for the implementation of management and conservation plans. This study aims to characterise the genetic diversity and relationships among six sheep breeds of meat aptitude that are spread through the eastern Pyrenees: Tarasconnaise, Castillonnaise and Rouge du Roussillon from France, and Aranesa, Xisqueta and Ripollesa from Spain. All but Tarasconnaise are catalogued as endangered. These breeds do not share the same ancestral origin but commercial trades and gene flow between herds are known to have occurred for centuries. Additionally, two outgroup breeds were included: the Guirra, from a different geographical location, and the Lacaune, a highly selected breed of dairy aptitude. A total of 410 individuals were typed using a panel of 12 microsatellite markers. Statistical, phylogenetic and Bayesian analyses showed that eastern Pyrenean breeds retained high levels of genetic diversity and low, but significant, levels of genetic differentiation (FST = 4.1%). While outgroups were clearly differentiated from other breeds, Pyrenean breeds tended to form two clusters. The first encompassed Tarasconnaise and Aranesa, which probably descend from a common meta-population. The second tended to group the other four breeds. However, none reached high mean Q-values of membership to a discrete cluster. This is consistent with the recent past gene flow between breeds, despite different ancestral genetic origins. The genetic characterisation carried out of the eastern Pyrenean sheep populations provides useful information to support decision making on their conservation and focusing efforts and resources to more singular breeds.

Analysis of Genetic Diversity in three Kazakh Sheep using 12 Microsatellites

“…Furthermore, the effective number of alleles was calculated among the breeds, where Ne value ranged from 3.902±0.477 to 4.975±0.461.The obtained indicators were similar to the result of S.B.S. Gaouaret al (2016) and greater than the values reported by X. C. Zeng et al (2010) [27][28]. In order to compare the genetic variability of the three sheep breeds, the observed and expected heterozygosity was estimated for each pair of populations (Table 2).…”

Genetic diversity among Sawakni, Berberi and Najdi sheep breeds in Saudi Arabia using microsatellites markers

“…Ferrando et al (2014) also found close F ST value in six breeds located in the eastern Pyrenees ranging from 0.011 to 0.053. When Saudi sheep populations were compared with other populations from different countries, the F ST values were lower than those found in this study (Sassi-Zaidy et al, 2014;Álvarez et al, 2012).…”

“…Purity and concentration of each sample was quantified using NanoDrop 2000 spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific, Wilmington, Delaware, USA). These markers were selected by taking into account the level of polymorphism previously detected in other studies and the location on different chromosomes (Peter et al, 2007;Ferrando et al, 2014;Yilmaz et al, 2015). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications were carried out in a 25 µl reaction volume containing100 ng of template DNA and 2 µl of each 10 µM primer.…”

Genetic variability of sheep populations of Saudi Arabia using microsatellite markers

“…The mean Fst values among the three sheep populations ranged between 0.031 (between Naeimi and Herri populations), 0.033 (between Najdi and Naeimi populations) and 0.017 (between Najdi and Herri populations) indicating little genetic differentiation among Saudi sheep populations. Ferrando et al (2014) also obtained close Fst value in six breeds located in the eastern Pyrenees ranging from 0.011 to 0.053. When Saudi Arabian sheep populations were compared with other populations from different countries, the lower Fst values were observed in this study (Sassi-Zaidy et al, 2014).…”