Department of Veterinary Science and Technology for Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
J Anim Sci. 2011 May;89(5):1304-11. doi: 10.2527/jas.2010-3379.
The Martina Franca (MF) donkey, an ancient native breed of Apulia, was mostly famous for mule production. The breed was at serious risk of extinction in the 1980s following the decrease in demand for draft animals because they were increasingly replaced by agricultural machinery. Much has been done in the last few decades to safeguard the existing donkey breeds, but the situation remains critical. Successful implementation of conservation measures includes an evaluation of the present degree of breed endangerment, so the aim of this work was to analyze the demographic and genetic parameters of this breed to suggest effective conservation strategies. With a current breed register counting less than 500 recorded animals, the pedigree data set included 1,658 MF donkeys born between 1929 and 2006. Analyses were carried out on the whole data set as well as on a smaller one consisting of 422 living animals. Demographic and genetic variability parameters were evaluated using the ENDOG (v4.6) software. The pedigree completeness level was evaluated as well as the generation length, which was calculated for each of the 4 gametic pathways. This information was obtained from animal birth date records together with those of their fathers and mothers. The effective number of founders (f(e)), the effective number of ancestors (f(a)), the founder genome (f(g)), individual inbreeding (F), average relatedness (AR), and the rate of inbreeding per generation were analyzed to describe the genetic variability of the population. Because pedigree depth and completeness were appropriate, especially regarding the current population, the parameters defining genetic variability, namely, f(e), f(a), f(g), F, and AR, could be reliably estimated. Analysis of these parameters highlighted the endangerment status of the MF donkey. Our special concern was with the increased percentage of males and females exhibiting increased AR values. Moreover, the effective size of the current population, 48.08, is slightly less than the range of the minimum effective size, and the rates of inbreeding per generation found in the current MF population exceed the maximum recommended level of 1%. Such a scenario heightens concerns over the endangered status of the MF breed and calls for proper conservation measures and breeding strategies, such as selecting individuals for mating when relationships are below 12.5%.
马泰拉弗兰卡（MF）驴是普利亚的一种古老的本地品种，主要以骡的生产而闻名。20 世纪 80 年代，由于对役用动物的需求减少，它们逐渐被农业机械所取代，这种品种处于灭绝的严重危险之中。在过去的几十年里，为了保护现有的驴品种，人们做了很多工作，但情况仍然很危急。保护措施的成功实施包括评估现有品种濒危程度，因此，这项工作的目的是分析该品种的人口和遗传参数，以提出有效的保护策略。目前的品种登记册上记录的动物不到 500 只，系谱数据集包括 1929 年至 2006 年期间出生的 1658 头 MF 驴。对整个数据集以及由 422 头现存动物组成的较小数据集进行了分析。使用 ENDOG（v4.6）软件评估了人口和遗传变异性参数。评估了系谱完整性水平以及每一种 4 种配子途径的世代长度。这些信息是从动物出生日期记录以及它们的父亲和母亲的出生日期记录中获得的。有效创始人数量（f(e)）、有效祖先数量（f(a)）、创始人基因组（f(g)）、个体近亲系数（F）、平均亲缘关系（AR）和每代的近交率用于描述种群的遗传变异性。由于系谱深度和完整性适当，特别是对于当前种群，因此可以可靠地估计定义遗传变异性的参数，即 f(e)、f(a)、f(g)、F 和 AR。对这些参数的分析突出了 MF 驴的濒危状态。我们特别关注的是，具有较高 AR 值的雄性和雌性的比例增加。此外，当前种群的有效大小为 48.08，略低于最小有效大小范围，而当前 MF 种群中发现的每代近交率超过了建议的最大水平 1%。这种情况加剧了对 MF 品种濒危状况的担忧，并呼吁采取适当的保护措施和繁殖策略，例如当亲缘关系低于 12.5%时选择个体进行交配。
