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Home / Equine Research Bank / PeerJ / Genetic variability of Akhal-Teke horses bred in Italy.
PeerJ2018; 6; e4889; doi: 10.7717/peerj.4889

Genetic variability of Akhal-Teke horses bred in Italy.

Abstract: The Akhal-Teke horse (AKH) is native of the modern Turkmenistan area. It was introduced in Italy from 1991 to 2000 mainly as an endurance horse. This paper characterizes the genetic variability of the whole Italian AKH horse population and evaluates their inbreeding level by analyzing microsatellite markers and mitochondrial D-Loop sequences. Methods: Seventeen microsatellite marker loci were genotyped on 95 DNA samples from almost all the AKH horses bred in Italy in the last 20 years. Standard genetic variability measures (Ho, He, FIS) were compared against the same variables published on other eight AKH populations. In addition, 397 bp of mtDNA D-loop region were sequenced on a sub-group of 22 unrelated AKH out of the 95 sampled ones, and on 11 unrelated Arab horses. The haplotypes identified in the Italian population were aligned to sequences of AKH (56), Arab (five), Caspian Pony (13), Przewalskii (two) and Barb (15) horses available in GenBank. The Median Joining Network (MJN), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree were calculated on the total 126 sequences. Results: Nucleic markers showed a high degree of polymorphism (Ho = 0.642; He = 0.649) and a low inbreeding level (FIS = 0.016) in Italian horses, compared to other AKH populations (ranged from -0.103 AKH from Estonia to 0.114 AKH from Czech Republic). High variability was also recorded in the D-Loop region. 11 haplotypes were identified with haplotype diversity (hd), nucleotide diversity (π) and average number of nucleotide differences (k) of 0.938, 0.021 and 6.448, respectively. When all the 126 D-Loop sequences were compared, 51 haplotypes were found, and four were here found only in the Italian AKH horses. The 51 haplotypes were conformed to eight recognized mtDNA haplogroups (A, C, F, G, L, M, P and Q) and confirmed by MJN analysis, Italian horses being assigned to five haplogroups (A, C, G, L and M). Using a PCA approach to the same data, the total haplotypes were grouped into two clusters including A+C+M+P and G+F haplogroups, while L and Q haplogroups remained ungrouped. Finally, the NJ algorithm effectively discretizes only the L haplogroup. All the above data univocally indicate good genetic variability and accurate management of the Akhal-Teke population in Italy.
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Publication Date: 2018-09-06 PubMed ID: 30202639PubMed Central: PMC6129384DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4889Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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The research study focuses on understanding the genetic variability of the Akhal-Teke horse population in Italy, which were primarily introduced as endurance horses between 1991-2000. The study evaluates the inbreeding level of these horses using microsatellite markers and mitochondrial D-Loop sequences and concludes that there is good genetic diversity and effective management of the Akhal-Teke horse population in Italy.

Methodology

  • The researchers genotyped seventeen microsatellite marker loci on 95 DNA samples from almost all the Akhal-Teke horses bred in Italy in the last 20 years.
  • Standard genetic variability measures were used and were compared against the same variables published on other eight Akhal-Teke populations.
  • 397 bp of mtDNA D-loop region were sequenced on a sub-group of 22 unrelated horses out of the 95 sampled ones, and on 11 unrelated Arab horses.
  • The haplotypes were aligned to sequences of Akhal-Teke, Arab, Caspian Pony, Przewalskii and Barb horses available in GenBank.
  • The Median Joining Network, Principal Component Analysis and Neighbor-joining tree were calculated.

Results

  • The nucleic markers showed a high degree of polymorphism and a low inbreeding level in Italian horses, compared to other Akhal-Teke populations.
  • High variability was also recorded in the D-Loop region, which is the non-coding region of the animal mitochondrial DNA.
  • Eleven haplotypes were identified from the Italian Akhal-Teke population.
  • When compared to the 126 D-Loop sequences, 51 haplotypes were found and four were only found in the Italian Akhal-Teke horses.
  • The haplotypes conformed to eight recognized mtDNA haplogroups, with the Italian horses being assigned to five haplogroups.
  • Two clusters were formed using a Principal Component Analysis approach; however, some haplogroups remained ungrouped.
  • Finally, the Neighbor-joining algorithm effectively separated just the L haplogroup.

These findings conclusively indicate that there is a good amount of genetic variability among the Akhal-Teke horse population in Italy, indicating effective population management and a low inbreeding level.

Cite This Article

APA
Cozzi MC, Strillacci MG, Valiati P, Rogliano E, Bagnato A, Longeri M. (2018). Genetic variability of Akhal-Teke horses bred in Italy. PeerJ, 6, e4889. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4889

Publication

PeerJ
ISSN: 2167-8359
NlmUniqueID: 101603425
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 6
Pages: e4889

Researcher Affiliations

Cozzi, Maria C
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Strillacci, Maria G
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Valiati, Paolo
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Rogliano, Elisa
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Bagnato, Alessandro
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Longeri, Maria
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
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