Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Ceh, E.
• Dovc, P.

Titel

Population structure and genetic differentiation of livestock guard dog breeds from the W estern B alkans

Ist Teil von

• Journal of animal breeding and genetics (1986), 2014-08, Vol.131 (4), p.313-325

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Summary Livestock guard dog ( LGD ) breeds from the W estern B alkans are a good example of how complex genetic diversity pattern observed in dog breeds has been shaped by transition in dog breeding practices. Despite their common geographical origin and relatively recent formal recognition as separate breeds, the K arst S hepherd, S arplaninac and T ornjak show distinct population dynamics, assessed by pedigree, microsatellite and mt DNA data. We genotyped 493 dogs belonging to five dog breeds using a set of 18 microsatellite markers and sequenced mt DNA from 94 dogs from these breeds. Different demographic histories of the K arst S hepherd and T ornjak breeds are reflected in the pedigree data with the former breed having more unbalanced contributions of major ancestors and a realized effective population size of less than 20 animals. The highest allelic richness was found in S arplaninac (5.94), followed by T ornjak (5.72), whereas K arst S hepherd dogs exhibited the lowest allelic richness (3.33). Similarly, the highest mt DNA haplotype diversity was found in S arplaninac, followed by T ornjak and K arst S hepherd, where only one haplotype was found. Based on F ST differentiation values and high percentages of animals correctly assigned, all breeds can be considered genetically distinct. However, using microsatellite data, common ancestry between the K arst S hepherd and S arplaninac could not be reconstructed, despite pedigree and mt DNA evidence of their historical admixture. Using neighbour‐joining, STRUCTURE or DAPC methods, S arplaninac and C aucasian S hepherd breeds could not be separated and additionally showed close proximity in the N eighbor N et tree. STRUCTURE analysis of the T ornjak breed demonstrated substructuring, which needs further investigation. Altogether, results of this study show that the official separation of these dog breeds strongly affected the resolution of genetic differentiation and thus suggest that the relationships between breeds are not only determined by breed relatedness, but in small populations even more importantly by stochastic effects.