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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(6); 1018; doi: 10.3390/ani10061018

Genetic Variability and Population Structure in the Sardinian Anglo-Arab Horse.

Abstract: The Sardinian Anglo Arab (SAA) is a famous horse breed in Italy, with a significant historical background in the island of Sardinia. The aim of the study is to perform an evaluation of genetic variability in SAA using pedigree and mitochondrial data. In the current population, pedigree completeness was observed to be close to 100%, while the inbreeding coefficient and the average relatedness were lower than 3%. The ratio of effective founders/numbers of ancestors was 3.68 for the whole pedigree. The effective population size (N) computed by an individual increase in inbreeding (N) was 456.86, the N on equivalent generations (N) was 184.75, and this value slightly increased to 209.31 when computed by log-regression on equivalent generations (N). These results suggest the presence of crossbreeding and bottleneck phenomena, and they were compared with other Italian horses (reported in bibliography) to present the SAA among the Italian horse breeds scenario. Furthermore, the noteworthy mitochondrial variability reflects the use of a considerable number of founder mares; the contribution of L lineage was very important, probably because of the re-colonization from the Iberian Peninsula after the Last Glacial Maximum.
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Publication Date: 2020-06-11 PubMed ID: 32545354PubMed Central: PMC7341272DOI: 10.3390/ani10061018Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article is about a study conducted to understand the genetic variability in the Sardinian Anglo Arab (SAA) horse breed using pedigree and mitochondrial data.

Objective of the Study

  • The study primarily aims at investigating the genetic variability and population structure of the Sardinian Anglo Arab (SAA) horse breed.
  • It does so by utilizing both pedigree (record of descent or lineage) and mitochondrial data (genetic information passed down through the female line).

Findings from the Pedigree Data

  • The pedigree data was found to be nearly completely defined, with an almost 100% completeness observed. This means the lineage of the current population of SAA horses could be traced back with high accuracy.
  • The inbreeding coefficient, which is a measure of the probability of two alleles at a locus being identical by descent, was found to be lesser than 3%. This is a relatively low rate of inbreeding suggesting limited genetic identicalness between individuals in the SAA population.
  • The average relatedness, too, was less than 3%, suggesting low genetic similarity between individuals in the population.
  • The ratio of effective founders to the number of ancestors was 3.68 for the whole pedigree. This ratio suggests a fair balance between the individuals who founding the lineage and their descendants, thereby indicating a certain level of genetic diversity in the population.

Findings from the Mitochondrial Data

  • The effective population size computed using different approaches was found to be high. This is a measure of the number of breeding individuals in a population and its high value indicates a large and diverse breeding population.
  • The mitochondrial variability was considerable, reflecting the use of a substantial number of founder mares. This illustrates the high level of genetic diversity stemming from the maternal lineage.
  • The contribution of the ‘L’ lineage was noted to be particularly strong. This could be due to the re-colonization from the Iberian Peninsula after the Last Glacial Maximum, putting forward a potential historical link between the SAA horses and the Iberian horse populations.

Contextualisation with Other Italian Horses

  • The findings of this study, particularly focusing on signs of crossbreeding and bottleneck phenomena, were compared with records of other Italian horse breeds to assess the position of the SAA among them.
  • The identification of these phenomena suggests a complex historical and breeding background for the SAA breed, involving both intra-breed crossbreeding and periods of reduced population diversity.

Cite This Article

APA
Giontella A, Sarti FM, Cardinali I, Giovannini S, Cherchi R, Lancioni H, Silvestrelli M, Pieramati C. (2020). Genetic Variability and Population Structure in the Sardinian Anglo-Arab Horse. Animals (Basel), 10(6), 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061018

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
PII: 1018

Researcher Affiliations

Giontella, Andrea
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S. Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Sarti, Francesca Maria
  • Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Cardinali, Irene
  • Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, via Elce di Sotto, 8, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Giovannini, Samira
  • Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Cherchi, Raffaele
  • AGRIS, Servizio Ricerca Qualità e Valorizzazione delle Produzioni Equine, piazza D. Borgia, 4, 07014 Ozieri, Sassari, Italy.
Lancioni, Hovirag
  • Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, via Elce di Sotto, 8, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Silvestrelli, Maurizio
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S. Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Pieramati, Camillo
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S. Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.

Conflict of Interest Statement

We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

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Citations

This article has been cited 14 times.
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