Microsatellite Diversity and Phylogenetic Relationships among East Eurasian Bos taurus Breeds with an Emphasis on Rare and Ancient Local Cattle.

Gulnara Svishcheva,Bulat Lkhasaranov,Olga Babayan,Ariuntuul Tsendsuren,Abdugani Abdurasulov,Yurii Stolpovsky

doi:10.3390/ani10091493

Abstract

Simple SummaryUsing microsatellite data, we analyzed various cattle breeds of European and Asian origins from different geo-climatic zones to study their genetic diversity, genetic distances, population structure, and other characteristics. The main focus was on the analysis of ancient and rare native breeds, which either have been unexplored or have received very little attention: the Altai, Ukrainian Grey, Tagil, and Buryat cattle breeds. Our findings provide important information on the population origin and diversity of the breeds, which can be useful for breeding and conservation purposes.We report the genetic analysis of 18 population samples of animals, which were taken from cattle (Bos taurus) breeds of European and Asian origins. The main strength of our study is the use of rare and ancient native cattle breeds: the Altai, Ukrainian Grey, Tagil, and Buryat ones. The cattle samples studied have different production purposes, belong to various eco-geographic regions, and consequently have distinct farming conditions. In order to clarify the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and historical origin of the studied breeds, we carried out an analysis of the genetic variation of 14 high-variability microsatellite loci at 1168 genotyped animals. High levels of heterozygosity and allelic richness were identified in four of the ancient local breeds, namely the Kalmyk, Tagil, Kyrgyz native, and Buryat breeds. The greatest phylogenetic distances from a common ancestor were observed for the Yakut and Ukrainian Grey breeds, while the Tagil breed showed the smallest difference. By using clustering approaches, we found that the Altai cattle is genetically close to the Kyrgyz one. Moreover, both the Altai and Kyrgyz breeds exposed genetic divergences from other representatives of the Turano-Mongolian type and genetic relationships with the Brown Swiss and Kostroma breeds. This phenomenon can be explained by the extensive use of the Brown Swiss and Kostroma breeds in the breeding and improvement processes for the Kyrgyz breeds, which have been involved in the process of keeping the Altai cattle. Our results can be valuable for conservation and management purposes.

Highlights

In recent years, significant progress on the individual identification and certification of breeds has been made in most countries for major livestock species
There is no doubt that native cattle breeds are important genetic resources, since they possess unique gene pools that arise from long-term adaptation to the local ecological, social, and economic conditions [27,66,67]
We found that the Altai cattle is genetically close to the Kyrgyz native cattle and to three breeds developed on its basis, namely the Kyrgyz beef-type, Aulie-Ata, and Alatau ones, the relationship of which was confirmed by the analysis of pairwise Ast

Summary

Introduction

Significant progress on the individual identification and certification of breeds has been made in most countries for major livestock species This was primarily achieved by the use of microsatellites, which have become internationally preferred molecular markers to trace studbook information at levels from a species to an individual. Because of a high level of polymorphism and a relatively uniform coverage across the genomes, microsatellite markers have proven to be an extremely valuable molecular tool for a wide range of genetic studies in humans, model organisms, wild vertebrate populations, and agriculturally-important animals [6,7,8,9,10], including breeds of cows [5], horses [11], goats [12], and pigs [13].

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