Mitochondrial DNA diversity of Anatolian indigenous domestic goats

Maternal Origins and Haplotype Diversity of Seven Russian Goat Populations Based on the D-loop Sequence Variability

Simple Summary

Russia has diverse specifically selected and multipurpose goat resources. However, the origin of the local goats is still enigmatic. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments of seven Russian local goat populations to provide the first insight into their maternal lineage.

Abstract

The territory of modern Russia lies on the crossroads of East and West and covers various geographical environments where diverse groups of local goats originated. In this work, we present the first study on the maternal origin of Russian local goats, including Altai Mountain (n = 9), Dagestan Downy (n = 18), Dagestan Local (n = 12), Dagestan Milk (n = 15), Karachaev (n = 21), Orenburg (n = 10), and Soviet Mohair (n = 7) breeds, based on 715 bp D-loop mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Saanen goats (n = 5) were used for comparison. Our findings reveal a high haplotype (HD = 0.843–1.000) and nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0112–0.0261). A total of 59 haplotypes were determined in the Russian goat breeds, in which all differed from the haplotypes of the Saanen goats. The haplotypes identified in Altai Mountain, Orenburg, Soviet Mohair, and Saanen goats were breed specific. Most haplotypes (56 of 59) were clustered together with samples belonging to haplogroup A, which was in accordance with the global genetic pattern of maternal origin seen in most goats worldwide. The haplotypes that were grouped together with rare haplogroups D and G were found in the Altai Mountain breed and haplogroup C was detected in the Soviet Mohair breed. Thus, our findings revealed that local goats might have been brought to Russia via various migration routes. In addition, haplotype sharing was found in aboriginal goat populations from overlapping regions, which might be useful information for their official recognition status.

Mitochondrial DNA variation and phylogeography of native Mongolian goats

OBJECTIVE

Mongolia is one of a few countries that supports over 25 million goats, but genetic diversity, demographic history, and the origin of goat populations in Mongolia have not been well studied. This study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity, phylogenetic status and population structure of Mongolian native goats, as well as to discuss their origin together with other foreign breeds from different countries using hypervariable region 1 (HV1) in mtDNA.

METHODS

In this study, we examined the genetic diversity and phylogenetic status of Mongolian native goat populations using a 452 base-pair long fragment of HVI of mitochondrial DNA from 174 individuals representing 12 populations. In addition, 329 previously published reference sequences from different regions were included in our phylogenetic analyses.

RESULTS

Investigated native Mongolian goats displayed relatively high genetic diversities. After sequencing, we found a total of 109 polymorphic sites that defined 137 haplotypes among investigated populations. Of these, haplotype and nucleotide diversities of Mongolian goats were calculated as 0.997±0.001 and 0.0283±0.002, respectively. These haplotypes clearly clustered into four haplogroups (A, B, C, and D), with the predominance of haplogroup A (90.8%). Estimates of pairwise differences (Fst) and the analysis of molecular variance values among goat populations in Mongolia showed low genetic differentiation and weak geographical structure. In addition, Kazakh, Chinese (from Huanghuai and Leizhou), and Arabian (Turkish and Baladi breeds) goats had smaller genetic differentiation compared to Mongolian goats.

CONCLUSION

In summary, we report novel information regarding genetic diversity, population structure, and origin of Mongolian goats. The findings obtained from this study reveal that abundant haplogroups (A to D) occur in goat populations in Mongolia, with high levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversity.