Abstract
Polymorphism of 30 canine-derived microsatellites was studied in a group of 200 red foxes kept on 2 Polish farms. 22 out of 30 microsatellites were selected to study association between marker genotypes and body weight (BW), body length (BL), body circumference (BC), tail length (TL), ear height (EH), length of the right front limb (FRLL), length of the right rear limb (RRLL), length of the right front foot (FRFL) and length of the right rear foot (RRFL). A total of 112 alleles and 243 genotypes were found at 22 autosomal microsatellite loci. Three monomorphic loci deemed as uninformative were excluded from the study. The association between marker genotypes and the studied traits was analysed using general linear model (GLM) procedure and least squares means (LSM). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was estimated to assess non-random association between microsatellite loci. Out of 19 microsatellites studied four markers showed no association with the studied traits, three markers had a significant effect on one trait, and another three markers had significant effect on two traits. Among ten microsatellites with significant effect on four economically important traits (BW, BL, BC, TL) four were associated with two characters: marker FH2613 with BW and BC, marker FH2097withBL and BC, marker ZUBECA6 with BW and BC, whereas marker REN75M10 was associated with BL and TL. The strongest LD (r2 ranged from 0.15 to 0.33) was estimated between nine loci with significant effect on economically important traits (BW, BL, BC, TL).
Highlights
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) had a common ancestor with the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) about 12–15 million years ago (Bardeleben et al 2005)
Polymorphism of 30 canine-derived microsatellites was studied in a group of 200 red foxes kept on 2 Polish farms. 22 out of 30 microsatellites were selected to study association between marker genotypes and body weight (BW), body length (BL), body circumference (BC), tail length (TL), ear height (EH), length of the right front limb (FRLL), length of the right rear limb (RRLL), length of the right front foot (FRFL) and length of the right rear foot (RRFL)
A total of 112 alleles and 243 genotypes were found at 22 autosomal microsatellite loci
Summary
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) had a common ancestor with the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) about 12–15 million years ago (Bardeleben et al 2005). Both species belong to the dog family Canidae, a group that has a long history spanning the last 50 million years (Ostrander and Wayne 2005). Evolutionary processes of the red fox kept on farms have been influenced by artificial selection. This process, controlled by humans, is focused on retaining traits regarded as desirable (Kukekova et al 2004). As a consequence of breeding programs carried out on fox farms morphological, physiological and behavioural changes have taken place, and genetic structure of the selected fox populations has been shaped according to breeders needs
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