Abstract
The genetic diversity of the sheep breeds in the Arab countries might be considered to be a mirror of the ecology of the region. In this study, the genetic structure and diversity of sheep breeds from Saudi Arabia (Harri, Najdi, Naemi, Arb, and Rufidi) and Awassi sheep from Jordan as an out-group were investigated using 19 microsatellites. All the breeds had high intra-population genetic diversity expressed as allelic number (7.33) and richness (2.9) and, expected heterozygosity (0.77). Structure analysis revealed three main gene pools underlying the ancestral genetic diversity of the study populations. The first pool had Harri, Najdi, and Rufidi breeds; the second had Naemi and Awassi breeds, and the third had the Arb breed which was significantly differentiated from the other breeds. Factorial correspondence analysis lent further support to the presence of the three gene pools. Although the outgroup Awassi sheep was more clearly differentiated, it still genetically close to Naemi sheep. The differentiation of the Arb breed could have been resulted from geographic and reproductive isolation. On the other hand, the genetic structure of the other two gene pools could be the result of the past and recent gene flow between individuals reared in the region known to be the center for animal husbandry and trading until the current time.
Highlights
The ecological diversity of the Arabian Peninsula has been reflected in the large number of sheep breeds found in the region (ACSAD (The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones Dry lands)., 1997)
The results of within-population genetic variation were based on the values of allelic (A and allelic richness (AR)) and genetic diversity (He)
The results showed at the individual level that Naemi and Awassi had a mixed ancestry as a result of sharing a fraction of their genome inherited from ancestors; whereas it is much less for individuals of the other breeds
Summary
The ecological diversity of the Arabian Peninsula has been reflected in the large number of sheep breeds found in the region (ACSAD (The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones Dry lands)., 1997). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has six breeds of sheep named Harri (Habsi), Najdi, Naemi (Awassi), Arb, and Rufidi (ACSAD (The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones Dry lands)., 2011; Aljumaah et al, 2014; Adam et al, 2015). Jordan has only one indigenous breed of sheep named Awassi (AlAtiyat et al, 2014), sheep breeds, such as the Naemi and Najdi, from neighboring countries’ were reported to be available in Jordan (Jawasreh et al, 2011). The Awassi has the widest geographic distribution of any sheep breed in the Arabian Peninsula; it is found in
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