Dimitriou Andreas C, Maimaris Giannis, Hadjipavlou Georgia
Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 22016, Lefkosia, 1516, Cyprus.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, University Campus, 2109, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 2;14(1):29946. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81678-3.
Cyprus, facing climate change and desertification, has Europe's second highest population growth. Halloumi cheese's Protected Designation of Origin status boosted goat and sheep milk demand. Optimizing primary sector production is key to balancing food production and environmental sustainability. The present study aims to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of Cyprus Chios sheep, as well as the impact of existing breeding nuclei on the breed's gene pool. Two breeding nuclei aiming to preserve genetic diversity and boost local milk production and four private farms were sampled. Genome-wide data using Illumina 50 K arrays were generated, analyzing over 1000 animals from six farms. At least three distinct genetic groups were identified, two of which are represented by the nuclei's distinct genetic profiles and a third was found in private farms. Calculated metrics indicate a negative correlation of gene flow with geographic distance in case of the Eastern nucleus. Presented results support recent, though limited inbreeding (mean F=0.046), compared to other commercial breeds. Estimated effective population size reveals a stabilizing trend to a relatively high number (Ne ~ 200) which indicates relatively high diversity that allows further genetic improvement. Revealed genomic diversity highlights the necessity of such exploration before effectively implementing genomic evaluation programs.
塞浦路斯面临气候变化和荒漠化问题，但其人口增长率在欧洲排名第二。哈洛米奶酪的原产地保护地位推动了山羊奶和绵羊奶的需求。优化第一产业生产是平衡粮食生产和环境可持续性的关键。本研究旨在探索塞浦路斯希俄斯岛绵羊的遗传多样性和种群结构，以及现有育种核心群对该品种基因库的影响。对旨在保护遗传多样性和提高当地牛奶产量的两个育种核心群以及四个私人农场进行了采样。利用Illumina 50K芯片生成了全基因组数据，对来自六个农场的1000多头动物进行了分析。至少鉴定出三个不同的遗传群体，其中两个由核心群独特的遗传特征代表，第三个出现在私人农场中。计算得出的指标表明，东部核心群的基因流与地理距离呈负相关。与其他商业品种相比，目前的结果支持近期虽有限但存在的近亲繁殖现象（平均F = 0.046）。估计的有效种群大小显示出稳定在相对较高数量（Ne ~ 200）的趋势，这表明具有较高的多样性，允许进一步的遗传改良。揭示的基因组多样性凸显了在有效实施基因组评估计划之前进行此类探索的必要性。
