Genetic diversity in Hucul and Polish primitive horse breeds

M Mackowski,J Cieslak,S Mucha,G Cholewinski

doi:10.5194/aab-58-23-2015

M Mackowski, J Cieslak + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-58-23-2015

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Abstract

Abstract. Pedigree and molecular data were used to evaluate genetic diversity in the Polish populations of the Polish primitive horse (also known as Polish Konik) and Hucul breeds over the time period of 30 years (1980–2011). Based on genotypes in 12 microsatellite loci (for 3865 Polish primitive horses and 1627 Huculs), as well as on pedigree data derived from over 7000 individuals (both breeds), several indices describing structure of the analysed populations were estimated. For both analysed breeds, we observed an increasing trend of inbreeding since 1980 which seems to be much more stable (oscillating around 10 % in the Polish primitive horse and 5 % in Hucul) since the beginning of 2000s when they were included in conservation programs in Poland. We observed that generally, indices related to genetic diversity are higher in the Hucul breed. Our study indicated that genetic diversity in the Polish primitive horse and Hucul breeds in Poland is still relatively high and conservation programs should be continued to keep it on the "safe" level in the future.

Highlights

Preservation of endangered species is one of the most important goals for the present biological sciences, especially in the context of natural ecosystems stability
Pedigree analysis was conducted for all Hucul and Polish primitive horses recorded in the studbooks between 1980 and 2011
Among horse breeds remaining in conservation programs in Poland, two (Polish primitive horse and Hucul) should be monitored carefully because their studbooks are closed and the risk of increased inbreeding is relatively high

Summary

Introduction

Preservation of endangered species is one of the most important goals for the present biological sciences, especially in the context of natural ecosystems stability. In the case of domestic animals, conservation programs are usually initiated for breeds which present a unique genetic and phenotypic value. It is well known that the traditional animal breeding programs are mainly based on strong selection to improve important phenotypic traits. The side effect of such an approach is depletion of the gene pool represented by a given species/breed. Conservation programs are needed to preserve breeds in which a significant part of given species’ genetic diversity is still present (http://dad.fao.org). It is worth noting that due to the common crossbreeding of horses the separation of different genetic and phenotypic breed patterns is often difficult or even impossible (Wade et al, 2009)

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