Abstract
Insights into the genetic characteristics of a species provide important information for wildlife conservation programs. Here, we used the OvineSNP50 BeadChip developed for domestic sheep to examine population structure and evaluate genetic diversity of snow sheep (Ovis nivicola) inhabiting Verkhoyansk Range and Momsky Ridge. A total of 1,121 polymorphic SNPs were used to test 80 specimens representing five populations, including four populations of the Verkhoyansk Mountain chain: Kharaulakh Ridge–Tiksi Bay (TIK, n = 22), Orulgan Ridge (ORU, n = 22), the central part of Verkhoyansk Range (VER, n = 15), Suntar‐Khayata Ridge (SKH, n = 13), and Momsky Ridge (MOM, n = 8). We showed that the studied populations were genetically structured according to a geographic pattern. Pairwise FST values ranged from 0.044 to 0.205. Admixture analysis identified K = 2 as the most likely number of ancestral populations. A Neighbor‐Net tree showed that TIK was an isolated group related to the main network through ORU. TreeMix analysis revealed that TIK and MOM originated from two different ancestral populations and detected gene flow from MOM to ORU. This was supported by the f3 statistic, which showed that ORU is an admixed population with TIK and MOM/SKH heritage. Genetic diversity in the studied groups was increasing southward. Minimum values of observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity and allelic richness (Ar) were observed in the most northern population—TIK, and maximum values were observed in the most southern population—SKH. Thus, our results revealed clear genetic structure in the studied populations of snow sheep and showed that TIK has a different origin from MOM, SKH, and VER even though they are conventionally considered a single subspecies known as Yakut snow sheep (Ovis nivicola lydekkeri). Most likely, TIK was an isolated group during the Late Pleistocene glaciations of Verkhoyansk Range.
Highlights
Snow sheep or Siberian bighorn sheep (Ovis nivicola Eschscholtz, 1829) (Figure 1) inhabits the most northern territories among all Asian ovine species, from Putorana Plateau in the east to Chukotka Peninsula in the west and from the Okhotsk Sea shore in the south to the Arctic Ocean shore in the north
We examined 80 samples of snow sheep collected in different ridges of Yakutia, namely Kharaulakh and Orulgan ridges, the central part of Verkhoyansk Range, Suntar-Khayata Ridge, and Momsky Ridge, using the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip developed for domestic sheep
Our research revealed that the studied populations of snow sheep are genetically structured according to a geographic pattern
Summary
Snow sheep or Siberian bighorn sheep (Ovis nivicola Eschscholtz, 1829) (Figure 1) inhabits the most northern territories among all Asian ovine species, from Putorana Plateau in the east to Chukotka Peninsula in the west and from the Okhotsk Sea shore in the south to the Arctic Ocean shore in the north. Recent advances in the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms have turned SNPs into a powerful tool for population and genetic studies of domestic animals (Coates et al, 2009; Kijas et al, 2009). As a solution to this problem, it was suggested that the cross- species application of commercially available SNP chips designed for domestic animals would be beneficial in studies on their respective wild relatives, despite the fact that the number of polymorphic loci decreases (Kohn, Murphy, Ostrander, & Wayne, 2006; Miller, Poissant, Kijas, Coltman, & the International Sheep Genomics Consortium, 2011). The aim of our study was to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of snow sheep (O. nivicola) and to obtain information that could be used in the development of conservation strategies and as a first step in understanding the taxonomy and evolution of snow sheep based on genotypes
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