Ruiz-Larrañaga Otsanda, Asadollahpour Nanaei Hojjat, Montes Iratxe, Ayatollahi Mehrgardi Ahmad, Abdolmohammadi Alireza, Kharrati-Koopaee Hamed, Sohrabi Saeed S, Rendo Fernando, Manzano Carmen, Estonba Andone, Iriondo Mikel, Esmailizadeh Ali
Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), c/Barrio Sarriena s/n, E-48940, Leioa, Biscay, Spain.
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, PB 76169-133, Iran.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2020 Sep;52(5):2283-2290. doi: 10.1007/s11250-020-02252-3. Epub 2020 Mar 6.
Genetic structure and genetic diversity levels of indigenous Iranian sheep breeds are not clear, despite the interest this region has in itself as an important center for domestication of livestock. Early population genetic studies have reported high levels of diversity among Iranian sheep breeds until recently, when high admixture levels and genetic homogeneity have been detected. The rapid reduction of diversity observed in Iranian breeds might be due to an increasing trend of intensive crossbreeding practices or even total replacement of native breeds by highly specialized and productive ones. From a conservative perspective, this situation is highly concerning; thus, it might be wise to consider a conservation program in Iran to preserve the original genetic diversity in native sheep breeds. In this study, a total of 1065 animals with the purest morphological features representing 24 Iranian indigenous sheep breeds were sampled, corresponding to ancestral breed diversity. These samples were genotyped for 17 microsatellite loci in order to (1) determine the native ancestral diversity of Iranian breeds, (2) define the degree of genetic relationship among studied breeds, and (3) assess conservation priorities among defined groups. Our results showed no recent loss of diversity, but high genetic diversity levels for indigenous sheep breeds in Iran. Indeed, the analysis of conservation priorities pointed out the importance of 8 breeds for maintaining Iranian sheep breeds' maximum genetic diversity. Thus, under a genetic perspective, these 8 breeds should be the ones included into conservation programs for restocking endangered areas.
尽管伊朗本身作为一个重要的家畜驯化中心备受关注，但其本土绵羊品种的遗传结构和遗传多样性水平尚不清楚。早期的群体遗传学研究报告称，直到最近检测到高混合水平和遗传同质性之前，伊朗绵羊品种之间的多样性水平一直很高。伊朗品种中观察到的多样性迅速减少，可能是由于集约化杂交育种实践的增加趋势，甚至是本土品种被高度专业化和高产的品种完全取代。从保守的角度来看，这种情况令人高度担忧；因此，在伊朗考虑实施一项保护计划以保护本土绵羊品种的原始遗传多样性可能是明智之举。在本研究中，共采集了1065只具有最纯正形态特征的动物样本，代表24个伊朗本土绵羊品种，对应于祖先品种的多样性。对这些样本进行了17个微卫星位点的基因分型，以便(1)确定伊朗品种的本土祖先多样性，(2)定义所研究品种之间的遗传关系程度，以及(3)评估已定义群体中的保护优先级。我们的结果表明，近期没有出现多样性丧失的情况，而是伊朗本土绵羊品种具有较高的遗传多样性水平。事实上，对保护优先级的分析指出了8个品种对于维持伊朗绵羊品种最大遗传多样性的重要性。因此，从遗传学角度来看，这8个品种应被纳入保护计划，用于补充濒危地区的种群。
