Michailidou Sofia, Kyritsi Maria, Pavlou Eleftherios, Tsoureki Antiopi, Argiriou Anagnostis
Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of the Aegean, 81400 Myrina, Greece.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Jul 10;14(7):845. doi: 10.3390/biology14070845.
Ιn this study, we evaluated the genetic resources of nine Greek sheep breeds. The genotyping data of 292 animals were acquired from Illumina's OvineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip. The genetic diversity and inbreeding levels were evaluated using the observed and expected heterozygosity indices, the F inbreeding coefficient, and runs of homozygosity (ROH). The genetic differentiation of breeds was assessed using the F index, whereas their population structure was analyzed using admixture and principal components analysis (PCA). Historical recombination patterns and genetic drift were evaluated based on linkage disequilibrium, effective population sizes, and gene flow analysis to reveal migration patterns. PCA revealed distinct clusters mostly separating mountainous, insular, and lowland breeds. The F value was the lowest between Serres and Karagouniko breeds (0.050). Admixture analysis revealed a genetic substructure for Serres and Kalarritiko breeds, while Chios, followed by Katsika, demonstrated the highest within-breed genetic uniformity. ROH analysis revealed low levels of inbreeding for all breeds. Genetic introgression from both Anatolia and Eastern Europe has been evidenced for Greek sheep breeds. The results also revealed that Greek sheep breeds maintain adequate levels of genetic diversity, without signs of excessive inbreeding, and can serve as valuable resources for the conservation of local biodiversity.
在本研究中，我们评估了九个希腊绵羊品种的遗传资源。从Illumina公司的OvineSNP50基因分型芯片获取了292只动物的基因分型数据。使用观察到的和预期的杂合度指数、F近交系数以及纯合子片段（ROH）评估遗传多样性和近亲繁殖水平。使用F指数评估品种间的遗传分化，而使用混合模型和主成分分析（PCA）分析它们的群体结构。基于连锁不平衡、有效种群大小和基因流分析评估历史重组模式和遗传漂变，以揭示迁移模式。主成分分析揭示了明显的聚类，主要将山地、岛屿和低地品种区分开来。Serres和Karagouniko品种之间的F值值值值最低（0.050）。混合分析揭示了Serres和Kalarritiko品种的遗传亚结构，而希俄斯岛品种，其次是卡齐卡品种，表现出最高的品种内遗传一致性。ROH分析表明所有品种的近亲繁殖水平较低。已证明希腊绵羊品种存在来自安纳托利亚和东欧的基因渗入。结果还表明，希腊绵羊品种保持了足够的遗传多样性水平，没有过度近亲繁殖的迹象，并且可以作为保护当地生物多样性的宝贵资源。
