PSXII-27 Microsatellite analysis of the historical and modern populations of the Russian local cattle breeds

Abstract

Abstract During the last centuries, a variety of cattle breeds adapted to the local climatic conditions have been developed in different countries. However, in the 20th century many of them were replaced by high-producing industrial breeds, which can lead to the losses of biodiversity. Our aim was to estimate the genetic diversity of Russian native cattle breeds based on the analysis of historical (museum) and modern samples. Historical samples were derived from the craniological collection of the Museum of Livestock named after E.F. Liskun (Moscow). Forty-six samples including Kholmogor (n = 18), Yaroslavl (n = 19), Saratov (n = 5), Novgorod (n = 2) and Great Russian cattle (n = 2) were subjected to the study. Holland cattle (n = 3) was additionally included in the study due to their possible contribution in forming Russian cattle breeds. The modern samples were presented by Yaroslavl (n = 62) and Kholmogor (n = 177) breeds, and Holstein breed (n = 158) was used as an outgroup. All of the works with historical samples were carried out in the facility of the L.K. Ernst Federal Science Center dedicated for the work with ancient DNA. Nine microsatellite loci (TGLA227, BM2113, ETH10, SPS115, TGLA122, INRA23, TGLA126, ETH225, and BM1824) were successfully amplificated in all samples. We observed the higher variability in historical samples comparing to modern samples: the values of unbiased expected heterozygosity were 0.65–0.85 and 0.70–0.74; the values of rarified allele richness were 2.72–3.11 and 2.63–2.76, respectively. The total number of private alleles was higher in historical populations (16) comparing to modern ones (12). The genetic relationship between historical and modern populations were evaluated. Our results indicate a decrease in genetic diversity in modern populations and a possible loss of valuable allelic combinations. The research results will be useful for development of comprehensive strategies for the conservation of the Russian native genetic resources of cattle. The study was funded by RSF №19-76-20012.