Genetic structure and differentiation of the Italian catria horse.
Abstract: Catria is 1 of the 22 native Italian horse breeds that now survive from a larger number. Thirty individuals, representative of the Catria horse, were analyzed for 11 microsatellites and compared with data of 10 breeds reared in Italy. Three different approaches, genetic distances, correspondence analysis, and clustering methods, were considered to study genetic relationships among Catria and the other horse populations. Genetic differentiation among breeds was highly significant (P < 0.01) for all loci. Average F(ST) values indicate that around 10% of the total genetic variation was explained by the between-breed differences and the 3 approaches utilized gave similar results. Italian native breeds are clearly separated from the other examined breeds. However, by the correspondence analysis, the Catria appears closer to Maremmano and Murgese. The results of Bayesian approaches give further information showing for Catria a common origin with Maremmano and Italian Heavy Draught. Genetic relationships among Catria and the other breeds are consistent with the breed's documented history. The data and information found here can be utilized in the organization of conservation programmes planned to reduce inbreeding and to minimize loss of genetic variability.
Publication Date: 2011-12-14 PubMed ID: 22156056DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esr121Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research paper provides an analysis of the genetic structure and differentiation in the Catria horse breed, which is one of the 22 surviving native Italian horse breeds, by comparing data from 10 other Italian breeds. The study revealed about 10% of the genetic variation was due to differences between breeds, and that the genetic relationship found aligns with the documented history of the Catria horse breed.
Genetic Analysis Methods
- The researchers used genetic distances, correspondence analysis, and clustering methods to investigate and understand the genetic relationships between the Catria horse breed and other related breeds.
- Microsatellites, which are simple sequence repeats widely used as molecular markers in genetics, were employed to scrutinize 30 individual horses that are representative of the Catria breed.
- The genetic differentiation found amongst the horse breeds was confirmed to be highly significant, adding credibility to the methodology used in this research.
Results and Interpretation
- Around 10% of the total genetic variation was identified to be a result of between-breed differences.
- The data from all three approaches used showed corresponding results, strengthening the validity of the study’s results.
- The Italian native breeds were markedly differentiated from other breeds tested in this study.
- However, when utilizing correspondence analysis, the Catria breed appeared to be genetically closer to the Maremmano and Murgese breeds.
- Results also suggested the Catria breed shares a common origin with the Maremmano and the Italian Heavy Draught breeds. This finding was brought forward by Bayesian approaches which are statistical procedures involving the use of probability.
Implications of the Study
- The genetic relationships identified amongst the Catria breed and others are consistent with the documented history of the breed, providing an extra depth of understanding to its evolutionary past.
- The information derived from this study can be useful in organizing conservation programmes that aim to decrease inbreeding and minimize loss of genetic variability, thereby helping to maintain and conserve the unique genetic traits of the Catria breed.
Cite This Article
APA
Bigi D, Perrotta G.
(2011).
Genetic structure and differentiation of the Italian catria horse.
J Hered, 103(1), 134-139.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esr121 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Dipartimento di Protezione e Valorizzazione Agroalimentare(DIPROVAL)-Sezione Allevamenti Zootecnici, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bologna, Via F.lli Rosselli 107, 42123 Reggio Emilia, Italy. daniele.bigi@unibo.it
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Bayes Theorem
- Cluster Analysis
- Female
- Genetic Structures
- Genetic Variation
- Horses / genetics
- Italy
- Male
- Microsatellite Repeats
- Phylogeny
- Polymorphism, Genetic
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Capomaccio S, Ablondi M, Colombi D, Sartori C, Giontella A, Cappelli K, Mancin E, Asti V, Mantovani R, Sabbioni A, Silvestrelli M. Exploring the Italian equine gene pool via high-throughput genotyping. Front Genet 2023;14:1099896.
- Lancioni H, Cardinali I, Giontella A, Antognoni MT, Miglio A. Mitochondrial DNA variation in the Italian Heavy Draught Horse. PeerJ 2020;8:e8996.
- Cardinali I, Lancioni H, Giontella A, Capodiferro MR, Capomaccio S, Buttazzoni L, Biggio GP, Cherchi R, Albertini E, Olivieri A, Cappelli K, Achilli A, Silvestrelli M. An Overview of Ten Italian Horse Breeds through Mitochondrial DNA. PLoS One 2016;11(4):e0153004.
- Pirault P, Danvy S, Verrier E, Leroy G. Genetic structure and gene flows within horses: a genealogical study at the french population scale. PLoS One 2013;8(4):e61544.
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