Molecular, genealogical and morphometric characterisation of the Pallaresa, a Pyrenean relic cattle breed: Insights for conservation

Abstract

The Pallaresa cattle breed is a native population of beef cattle found in the western regions of the Catalan Pyrenees (Spain). Since the second half of the twentieth century, population size decreased dramatically in favour of the Bruna dels Pirineus breed. At the present time, it is classified as a relic breed on the brink of extinction by the FAO, as only 22 breeding animals remain alive (2 bulls and 20 cows). Its importance as genetic and cultural heritage and its contribution in maintaining the landscape and ecosystem, as well as its unquestionable interest as a tourist attraction, make it an irreplaceable element in this area. In this paper, we present the breed characterisation of the population at the molecular, genealogical and morphological levels, and the comparison and phylogenetic relationships with other local breeds, in order to contribute to the characterisation of this prominent genetic resource. Genealogical analyses showed that the Pallaresa population is highly inbred. The mean inbreeding for both the whole pedigree and the living population was 18.93% and 25.71%, respectively. A set of 15 microsatellites were typed on the available Pallaresa individuals to ascertain the genetic variability of the breed at the molecular level and to allow a direct comparison with a set of previously studied 19 local cattle breeds from Spain, Portugal and France. The average number of alleles per locus for the Pallaresa breed (4.3) was the lowest of the analysed breeds and the withinpopulation genetic identity, assessed using molecular coancestry, the highest (0.437). The Pallaresa population showed high levels of differentiation from the other analysed breeds. The lowest kinship distance was assessed for the pairs formed with the Bruna dels Pirineus and Salers breeds (0.417± 0.010 and 0.427 ± 0.011, respectively). STRUCTURE analysis showed that most Pallaresa individuals were assigned to one distinct cluster, showing that the breed gathers a unique genetic background. Despite its dramatic population scenario, the Pallaresa breed still preserves moderate levels of genetic diversity. The results obtained from the current study can contribute to design appropriate conservation strategies to prevent its extinction in the near future. The implementation of a mating programme involving Pallaresa bulls and Bruna dels Pirineus cows selected according to genetic and morphological closeness to the Pallaresa breed is suggested to prevent the genetic impoverishment of the population.

Application of varimax rotated principal component analysis in quantifying some zoometrical traits of a relict cow

“…This could be attributed to a low degree of environmental effects and the same condition of all animals. The obtained metric traits were in general slightly minor than those obtained by Jordana et al [4], although no statistical test has been applied to compare them. Probably the differences are due to a simple individual variation.…”

“…For a long time, these animals were raised to take advantage of their three aptitudes: work, meat and milk. Since the second half of the last century, population size decreased dramatically in favor of the "Bruna dels Pirineus" breed [4] which belongs to the Brown Alpine group.…”

“…The four remaining herds represent the last vestiges of the breed which can be considered as a typical example of a breed in "relic state" in Catalonia while "Bruna dels Pirineus" is widely extended in the area. Its importance as genetic and cultural heritage and its contribution in maintaining the landscape and ecosystem, as well as its unquestionable interest as a tourist attraction, make it an irreplaceable element in this area [4]. In 2001 an official recovery program was initiated.…”

Morphological diversities and ecozones of Ethiopian horse populations

“…Of special interest is the position of Blanca del Pallars, which appears clearly separated from alpine breeds such Bruna dels Pirineus and Pardo Alpina but closely related to Gascon. The relationship between Blanca del Pallars and Gascon, as revealed in this investigation, makes possible the claim that the former breed is very distinct from the alpine breeds, differing from the idea of Avellanet, Aranguren-Méndez and Jordana (2002), Jordana et al (2010), and Marmi, Casas and Jordana (2005), although the Blanca del Pallars and the Bruna dels Pirineus are in the same area. One can attempt to identify Blanca del Pallars as a sphere of influence of what we call a "provincialism" in the "Podolian occupation".…”

Genetic diversity, structure and individual assignment of Casta Navarra cattle: a well‐differentiated fighting bull population

“…From these, the TGLA53 and INRA35 microsatellite markers were excluded due to the difficulty of correctly reading genotypes for the first microsatellite and to the presence of null alleles in high frequency for the second, as it has been previously reported (Jordana et al . ).…”