Study of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of the Osetin Breed in Comparison with Other Coarse Wool Fat-Tailed Sheep Breeds Based on SNP Genotyping Data

Abstract

For the first time, an analysis of the genetic diversity of the Osetin sheep breed was performed using genome-wide SNP profiles in a comparison with other Russian coarse wool breeds. We established that the Osetin breed has high genetic and allelic diversity indicators. For the first time, the recent and historical population effective sizes of the Osetin breed were calculated. Close genetic relationships between the Osetin and Karachaev sheep breeds were shown, that is confirmed by the low value of differentiation (Fst = 0.009) and the formation of a joint cluster at the Neighbor Net graph. The similarity of the population structure of the Osetin and Karachaev breeds was revealed as well.