Founder and present maternal diversity in two endangered Spanish horse breeds assessed via pedigree and mitochondrial DNA information.
Abstract: Pedigree information and 179 mtDNA sequences from two endangered Spanish horse breeds, the Asturcón pony (143) and the Mallorquí horse (36), were analysed to asses: (i) the pedigree and molecular maternal genetic diversity of the two breeds; (ii) the concordance between the dam lines recorded in the corresponding studbooks and the mtDNA haplotypes identified; and (iii) to assess the losses of maternal genetic variability occurred from the foundation of the studbooks to present. Up to 50 Asturcón and 18 Mallorquí founder dam lines were identified in the studbooks analysed. Up to 315 Asturcón mares and 51 Mallorquí mares that foaled in the last 5 years of recording formed a reference population. Only 35 Asturcón and 13 Mallorquí founder dam lines were represented in their reference populations. Sequences from a total of 38 Asturcón and 12 Mallorquí dam lines could be obtained. The 179 sequences obtained gave 15 different haplotypes, 11 and 9 of them being identified, respectively, in the Asturcón pony and in the Mallorquí horse. Five different haplotypes (roughly two-thirds of the sequences) were shared by the two horse breeds. Most dam lines analysed had a single mtDNA haplotype. However, more than one haplotype was detected within eight of the dam lines in Asturcón pony. The found inconsistencies are likely to result from deficiencies in genebank management. The maternal N(e) (mN(e)) computed using the dam line information was higher in the Asturcón pony (20.5) than in the Mallorquí horse (15.9), while these figures were on the opposite direction for the haplotypic line information (6.4 and 9.4, respectively). The ratio of the computed mN(e) values to the actual number of founder dam lines were always higher in the Mallorquí horse probably due to a more balanced distribution of individuals kept for reproduction among studs. Consequences for the conservation programmes of the analysed breeds are discussed.
© 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Publication Date: 2012-03-28 PubMed ID: 22775259DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0388.2012.00995.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research analyzes the maternal genetic diversity in two endangered Spanish horse breeds, Asturcón ponies and Mallorquí horses, using both pedigree information and mitochondrial DNA sequences. It also assessed the loss of maternal genetic diversity from the foundation of the species to the present.
Methodology
- The study extracted pedigree information and analyzed 179 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from 143 Asturcón ponies and 36 Mallorquí horses.
- The reference population was formed from 315 Asturcón mares and 51 Mallorquí mares that had given birth in the past 5 years.
- The researchers used this data to identify the correlation between the recorded dam lines in the respective studbooks and the mtDNA haplotypes.
Findings
- The analysis identified up to 50 Asturcón and 18 Mallorquí founder dam lines from the reviewed studbooks, but only 35 Asturcón and 13 Mallorquí founder dam lines were present in their reference populations.
- Out of the 179 mtDNA sequences, 15 different haplotypes were discovered, with 11 identified in the Asturcón pony and 9 in the Mallorquí horse. Five of these haplotypes were shared between the two horse breeds.
- A majority of the examined dam lines had a single mtDNA haplotype, but more than one haplotype was detected within eight of the dam lines in the Asturcón pony.
- The inconsistencies in the results suggest possible deficiencies in genebank management.
Impact Assessment
- The maternal effective population size (Ne), which is a measure of the number of breeding individuals in a population, was higher in the Asturcón pony (20.5) than in the Mallorquí horse (15.9) when calculated using the dam line information. The same calculation using haplotypic line information revealed a different ranking with 6.4 for the Asturcón and 9.4 for the Mallorquí.
- This difference in Ne is likely due to a more balanced distribution of breeding individuals in the Mallorquí horse breed.
- The research discusses the implications of these findings for future conservation efforts directed at these endangered horse breeds.
Cite This Article
APA
Álvarez I, Fernández I, Lorenzo L, Payeras L, Cuervo M, Goyache F.
(2012).
Founder and present maternal diversity in two endangered Spanish horse breeds assessed via pedigree and mitochondrial DNA information.
J Anim Breed Genet, 129(4), 271-279.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0388.2012.00995.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- SERIDA-Deva, Gijón, Spain.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics
- Endangered Species
- Female
- Founder Effect
- Genetic Variation / genetics
- Horses / classification
- Horses / genetics
- Male
- Mothers
- Pedigree
- Spain
- Species Specificity
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Wang Z, Lu G, Gao Y, Yan L, Li M, Hu D, Zhang D. mtDNA CR Evidence Indicates High Genetic Diversity of Captive Forest Musk Deer in Shaanxi Province, China. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jul 4;13(13).
- Giontella A, Cardinali I, Lancioni H, Giovannini S, Pieramati C, Silvestrelli M, Sarti FM. Mitochondrial DNA Survey Reveals the Lack of Accuracy in Maremmano Horse Studbook Records. Animals (Basel) 2020 May 12;10(5).
- Ristov S, Brajkovic V, Cubric-Curik V, Michieli I, Curik I. MaGelLAn 1.0: a software to facilitate quantitative and population genetic analysis of maternal inheritance by combination of molecular and pedigree information. Genet Sel Evol 2016 Sep 10;48(1):65.
- Winton CL, Plante Y, Hind P, McMahon R, Hegarty MJ, McEwan NR, Davies-Morel MC, Morgan CM, Powell W, Nash DM. Comparative genetic diversity in a sample of pony breeds from the U.K. and North America: a case study in the conservation of global genetic resources. Ecol Evol 2015 Aug;5(16):3507-22.
- Agbani A, Aminou O, Machmoum M, Germot A, Badaoui B, Petit D, Piro M. A Systematic Literature Review of Mitochondrial DNA Analysis for Horse Genetic Diversity. Animals (Basel) 2025 Mar 20;15(6).
- Moreno E, Cervantes I, Gutiérrez JP, Fernández I, Goyache F. Analysing the pedigree to identify undesirable losses of genetic diversity and to prioritize management decisions in captive breeding: a case study. Heredity (Edinb) 2024 Dec;133(6):400-409.
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