Abstract

BackgroundChina has numerous native domestic goat breeds, however, extensive studies are focused on the genetic diversity within the fewer breeds and limited regions, the population demograogic history and origin of Chinese goats are still unclear. The roles of geographical structure have not been analyzed in Chinese goat domestic process. In this study, the genetic relationships of Chinese indigenous goat populations were evaluated using 30 microsatellite markers.Methodology/Principal FindingsForty Chinese indigenous populations containing 2078 goats were sampled from different geographic regions of China. Moderate genetic diversity at the population level (HS of 0.644) and high population diversity at the species level (HT value of 0.737) were estimated. Significant moderate population differentiation was detected (FST value of 0.129). Significant excess homozygosity (FIS of 0.105) and recent population bottlenecks were detected in thirty-six populations. Neighbour-joining tree, principal components analysis and Bayesian clusters all revealed that Chinese goat populations could be subdivided into at least four genetic clusters: Southwest China, South China, Northwest China and East China. It was observed that the genetic diversity of Northern China goats was highest among these clusters. The results here suggested that the goat populations in Southwest China might be the earliest domestic goats in China.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggested that the current genetic structure of Chinese goats were resulted from the special geographical structure, especially in the Western China, and the Western goat populations had been separated by the geographic structure (Hengduan Mountains and Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River Line) into two clusters: the Southwest and Northwest. It also indicated that the current genetic structure was caused by the geographical origin mainly, in close accordance with the human’s migration history throughout China. This study provides a fundamental genetic profile for the conservation of these populations and better to understand the domestication process and origin of Chinese goats.

Highlights

  • The archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that goat (Capra hircus) was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East

  • Our results demonstrated that Chinese goat populations could be subdivided into at least the following four genetic clusters: Southwest China, South China, Northwest China and East China, and the genetic diversity of Northern China goats was highest among these clusters

  • The result of microsatellite markers amplification analyze showed that the total number of alleles was 471, and the largest number of alleles was found at locus BM6444 (35) and the smallest at locus MAF 209 (4), with an average of 15.7 alleles per locus (Table 1)

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Summary

Introduction

The archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that goat (Capra hircus) was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East

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