Abstract
The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is an economically important and cultural signature species in Peru. Thus, molecular genomic information about the genes underlying the traits of interest, such as fiber properties and color, is critical for improved breeding and management schemes. Current knowledge about the alpaca genome, particularly the chromosomal location of such genes of interest is limited and lags far behind other livestock species. The main objective of this work was to localize alpaca candidate genes for fiber growth and color using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We report the mapping of candidate genes for fiber growth COL1A1, CTNNB1, DAB2IP, KRT15, KRTAP13-1, and TNFSF12 to chromosomes 16, 17, 4, 16, 1, and 16, respectively. Likewise, we report the mapping of candidate genes for fiber color ALX3, NCOA6, SOX9, ZIC1, and ZIC5 to chromosomes 9, 19, 16, 1, and 14, respectively. In addition, since KRT15 clusters with five other keratin genes (KRT31, KRT13, KRT9, KRT14, and KRT16) in scaffold 450 (Vic.Pac 2.0.2), the entire gene cluster was assigned to chromosome 16. Similarly, mapping NCOA6 to chromosome 19, anchored scaffold 34 with 8 genes, viz., RALY, EIF2S2, XPOTP1, ASIP, AHCY, ITCH, PIGU, and GGT7 to chromosome 19. These results are concordant with known conserved synteny blocks between camelids and humans, cattle and pigs.
Highlights
The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated South American camelid adapted to the Andean climate conditions
Clones for individual genes were identified by PCR with gene-specific primers (Table 1), and one clone per each gene was selected for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping
We report the cytogenetic mapping of 11 new genes in the alpaca genome, which together with prior FISH maps (Avila et al, 2014a,b) takes the tally of all chromosomally mapped markers for this species to 241
Summary
The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated South American camelid adapted to the Andean climate conditions. They are economically important in Peru as a fiber production species benefiting the small shareholders living in this geographical region (Quispe et al, 2009). Alpaca fiber is highly valued in the international market because of its softness and resistance (Crispín, 2008). Alpaca meat is highly valued for its high protein and low cholesterol content (Hack, 2001), and continues serving rural population of Altiplano as an important source of protein (Cruz et al, 2017).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
