Genetic Characteristics of Wild and Domestic Reindeer Based on the Analysis of mtDNA Cytb Gene &amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;†&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;

Veronika Kharzinova,Ivica Medugorac,Stefan Krebs,Natalia Zinovieva,Elisabeth Kunz,Nicolay Bardukov,Arsen Dotsev,Maulik Upadhyay

doi:10.3390/bdee2021-09486

Abstract

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in Russia is presented by a number of wild and domestic populations. Both wild and domestic reindeer play an important role in lives of indigenous people. Investigation of biodiversity of this species is very important for developing conservation and breeding programs. Our research was aimed at determining haplotype variability and genetic diversity of the wild and domestic reindeer. MtDNA cytb gene (1,140 bp) of the wild reindeer from the Taimyr region (WLD, n=16) and domestic reindeer from the Nenets-Autonomous district (NEN, n=15) and Tuva Republic (TUVA, n=5) were sequenced. It was shown that the number of variable sites was higher in WLD – 35, than in NEN and TUVA – 17 and 5, respectively. Haplotype diversity was 0.958±0.036 in WLD, 0.762±0.096 in NEN and 0.900±0.161 in TUVA. Average number of nucleotide differences was 7.942 in WLD, 4.324 in NEN and 2.800 in TUVA. The median-joining network revealed that WLD and NEN had shared haplotypes with each other, while TUVA had private haplotypes. Thus, the obtained results of the current study demonstrated that the wild reindeer were characterized by higher genetic diversity than both domestic groups. Tuva reindeer clustered separately from the other populations and were characterized by higher haplotype diversity than the Nenets conspecifics that had a higher average number of nucleotide differences.

Highlights

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L. 1758) is an ungulate that inhabits the whole circumpolar area of the northern hemisphere, and it is the last animal to be domesticated by humans [1,2]
The genetic diversity and population structure of the reindeer in Russia have been described in detail based on the analysis of nuclear genome markers [4,5], while the current information on the genetic variation of the reindeer based on sequences of the mtDNA cytochrome b gene is still lacking
The current work was aimed at determining haplotype variability and genetic diversity of the wild and domestic reindeer based on the analysis of the of the mitochondrial cytochrome B gene polymorphism

Summary

Introduction

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L. 1758) is an ungulate that inhabits the whole circumpolar area of the northern hemisphere, and it is the last animal to be domesticated by humans [1,2]. The small peoples of the North are able to be provided with food and necessary materials for housing and clothing by the wild reindeer.The largest wild population inhabits the central Arctic—Taimyr, Evenkia, Yakutia—about 480 thousand animals. The genetic diversity and population structure of the reindeer in Russia have been described in detail based on the analysis of nuclear genome markers [4,5], while the current information on the genetic variation of the reindeer based on sequences of the mtDNA cytochrome b gene is still lacking. The current work was aimed at determining haplotype variability and genetic diversity of the wild and domestic reindeer based on the analysis of the of the mitochondrial cytochrome B (cytb) gene polymorphism

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion