Reindeer Population as an Indicator of Sustainable Development of the Arctic Territory

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to carry out genetic monitoring of domestic reindeer of Nenets breed raised on the territory of Taimyr; establishment of the genetic bank of domestic reindeer of Nenets breed; as well as a comparative analysis with populations of the Nenets breed from other breeding regions (Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Murmansk Oblast and the Komi Republic) using DNA markers. The microsatellites were used in the studies as DNA markers of genetic diversity. Genotyping was carried out by the methods of the Laboratory of molecular selection basis of L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry. Statistical data processing was performed using the GenAlEx 6.5, SplitsTree 4.14.5 software, as well as the software packages “diveRsity”, “pophelper”, and “adegenet” for the R computing environment. As a result of the study, it was found that the population of reindeer of Taimyr breed in the village of Tukhard is characterised by the minimum level of polymorphism and genetic diversity, as indicated by the minimum values of all population genetic indicators. The authors assume that the patterns that have been identified are primarily the result of breeding programmes on the samples presented in this study (such studies have not been conducted before). The results of the PCA analysis and the phylogenetic dendrogram of genetic relationships, built on the basis of the matrix of Jost's D pairwise genetic distances using the NeighborNet, revealed a similar genetic structure of Taimyr populations, which, most likely, could be due to the close geographical localisation of the studied individuals. The authors come to the conclusion that a low level of both allelic and genetic diversity in the future may negatively affect the adaptation of animals to environmental conditions.