The genetic ancestry of American Creole cattle inferred from uniparental and autosomal genetic markers

Catarina Ginja,Javier Cañón,Maria Aparecida Cassiano Lara,Juan Vicente Delgado,Luz A Álvarez ,A Rogberg-Muñoz ,L T Gama ,P Sponenberg ,Guillermo Giovambattista,Saif Agha,O Cortés ,J.l Vega-Pla ,A A Do Egito ,Cecilia Penedo,A Sanz ,Inmaculada Martín-Burriel ,A Martínez-Martínez

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-47636-0

Abstract

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. We analyzed uniparental genetic markers and autosomal microsatellites in DNA samples from 114 cattle breeds distributed worldwide, including 40 Creole breeds representing the whole American continent, and samples from the Iberian Peninsula, British islands, Continental Europe, Africa and American zebu. We show that Creole breeds differ considerably from each other, and most have their own identity or group with others from neighboring regions. Results with mtDNA indicate that T1c-lineages are rare in Iberia but common in Africa and are well represented in Creoles from Brazil and Colombia, lending support to a direct African influence on Creoles. This is reinforced by the sharing of a unique Y-haplotype between cattle from Mozambique and Creoles from Argentina. Autosomal microsatellites indicate that Creoles occupy an intermediate position between African and European breeds, and some Creoles show a clear Iberian signature. Our results confirm the mixed ancestry of American Creole cattle and the role that African cattle have played in their development.

Highlights

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years
It has not been possible to disentangle whether the likely influence of African cattle on American Creoles has been achieved directly through animals arriving from Africa or indirectly through Iberian cattle, as an African signature has been revealed in Iberian breeds[10,11,12]
We studied a total of 4,658 animals from 114 cattle breeds, including 1,480 Creole from 40 breeds, 1,930 Iberian from 39 breeds, 556 African from 18 breeds, 271 British from 6 breeds, 229 Continental European from 6 breeds, and 192 Indicine from 5 breeds sampled in the Americas

Summary

Introduction

Cattle imported from the Iberian Peninsula spread throughout America in the early years of discovery and colonization to originate Creole breeds, which adapted to a wide diversity of environments and later received influences from other origins, including zebu cattle in more recent years. As Creole cattle breeds went through this initial period of rapid expansion throughout the American continent they played a crucial role as a source of labor, food and hides, and since have evolved to adapt to an extremely diverse set of environmental conditions which cover climates as varied as the Great Plains of North America, the semiarid area in Northeast Brazil, the tropical regions of the Caribbean or the mountains and glaciers of Patagonia These cattle represent an extremely valuable biological resource to understand the genetic background that may be implicated in various mechanisms of adaptation, including adjustment to climate change, resistance to parasites, ability to utilize different feedstuffs, etc.[4]. Bulls imported from India were backcrossed with local Creole cattle, to originate the various American indicine breeds currently recognized

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion