Abstract
North Africa represents a rich and early reservoir of goat genetic diversity, from which the main African breeds have been derived. In this study, the genetic diversity of four indigenous Algerian goat breeds (i.e., Arabia, Makatia, M’Zabite and Kabyle, with n = 12 for each breed) has been investigated for the first time by genome-wide SNP genotyping; moreover in a broader context, genetic structuration of Algerian and Moroccan goats was explored (via FST, MDS, STRUCTURE, FineSTRUCTURE, BAPS, sPCA and DAPC analyses). At national level, the study revealed high level of genetic diversity and a significant phenomenon of admixture affecting all the Algerian breeds. At broader scale, clear global genetic homogeneity appeared considering both Algerian and Moroccan stocks. Indeed, genetic structuration was almost nonexistent among Arabia (from Algeria), Draa, Black and Nord (from Morocco), while the ancestral Kabyle and M’Zabite breeds, reared by Berber peoples, showed genetic distinctness. The study highlighted the threat to the Maghrebin stock, probably induced by unsupervised cross-breeding practices which have intensified in recent centuries. Moreover, it underlined the necessity to deepen our understanding of the genetic resources represented by the resilient North-African goat stock.
Highlights
About 11,000 years ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East, started keeping herds of wild bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus) for their milk, meat, hair and skin [1,2,3,4]
Genetic structuration was almost nonexistent among Arabia, Draa, Black and Nord, while the ancestral Kabyle and M’Zabite breeds, reared by Berber peoples, showed genetic distinctness
Our aims were (i) to provide the first comprehensive view of Algerian goat genetic diversity in comparison with that of Moroccan goat and (ii) to assess if the phenomenon of genetic dilution detected in the Algerian sheep [21,22], was observed in the Maghrebin goat stock
Summary
About 11,000 years ago, Neolithic farmers in the Near East, started keeping herds of wild bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus) for their milk, meat, hair and skin [1,2,3,4]. From the domestication centers in Central Zagros and Eastern Anatolia, goat rapidly spread westward along the Mediterranean coasts [5,6,7]. Archaeological remains, of both sheep and goat, found along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, suggest a fast dispersal from Southwest Asia into North Africa between 7,000 BP and 6,000 BP [8].
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