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Abstract
Cirneco dell’Etna is an old Italian breed of scent hunting dogs. Commonly used genomic measures such as heterozygosity, fixation indexes, and runs of homozygosity can help to improve knowledge about its genetic diversity. This study aimed to: (i) investigate Cirneco’s genomic background, (ii) quantify its genomic inbreeding, and (iii) detect genomic regions differentiating the Cirneco’s two allowed coat colours, self-coloured fawn and tan and white. Canine 230 K SNP BeadChips was used to investigate 24 Cirneco (19 self-coloured fawn, and 5 tan and white) and other 106 dogs from eight phylogenetically and historically related breeds. The genetic distance, ancestry, and relationship among breeds were explored by multidimensional scaling, Reynolds distances, phylogenetic tree, and admixture analysis. The genomic inbreeding (F ROH) was calculated for each breed. Averaged Wright’s fixation index ST was used to identify the genes that most differentiated the two groups of Cirneco. All analyses highlighted that Segugio Italiano and Kelb tal Fenek are the closest breeds to Cirneco. Within the breed, tan and white subjects showed a more heterogeneous genetic background and a lower inbreeding in comparison with self-coloured fawn ones, even though more than half of the latter presented a superimposable admixture. The gene that most differentiated these two groups is Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor (MITF), previously associated with white spotting in other breeds. Given the small size of the Cirneco population and its open registry, its management should carefully combine morphological and genealogical evaluations with genetic tools to identify the best breeders while maintaining an acceptable genetic pool. Highlights The genomic analysis demonstrated that Segugio Italiano and Kelb tal Fenek are genetically related to the Cirneco. The MITF gene is responsible for white blazing in Cirneco as in many other dog breeds. Genomic tools should be integrated with phenotypic and genealogic evaluations in the management of Italian autochthonous dog breeds to safeguard their welfare and biodiversity.
Highlights
The Cirneco dell’Etna (Cirneco for conciseness) is the oldest of the 16 Italian dog breeds officially recognised by the National Agency of the Italian Kennel Club (ENCI), with its breed standard definition dating back to 1939 (Tricomi and Moore 2016)
This study provides important new knowledge about the current genetic diversity and genomic structure of the Cirneco dog breed
Our analyses reveal that Segugio Italiano (SIPR and SIPF) and KETF are potentially the breeds that most likely had an influence on the Cirneco
Summary
The Cirneco dell’Etna (Cirneco for conciseness) is the oldest of the 16 Italian dog breeds officially recognised by the National Agency of the Italian Kennel Club (ENCI), with its breed standard definition dating back to 1939 (Tricomi and Moore 2016). This Cirneco breed is recognised internationally by the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) with breed standard number 199, classified in Group 5 – Section 7 (Spitz and primitive types - Primitive type Hunting Dogs) with working trial in Italy (FCI 2020). The distribution of this breed is very limited, with only 15 officially registered breeders in Italy, who together enrol on average 130 puppies per year to the Register of Italian Origin (ROI) and the Register Additional
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