Genetic structure and diversity of Santa Inês sheep flocks in Central-Northern Brazil

• Published in: Revista brasileira de zootecnia Vol. 53
• Main Authors: Deus, Alzira Regina Silva de, Silva, Geice Ribeiro da, Sena, Luciano Silva, Britto, Fábio Barros, Rocha, Artur Oliveira, Carvalho, Débora Araújo de, Sousa, Fabiana Cristina Belchior de, Santos, Natanael Pereira da Silva, Sarmento, José Lindenberg Rocha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia 01-01-2024
• Subjects: AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE; VETERINARY SCIENCES; microsatellites; Brazil; genetic structure; sheep; genetic variability
• ISSN: 1516-3598; 1806-9290; 1806-9290
• DOI: 10.37496/rbz5320230095

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the genetic structure and diversity of six Santa Inês sheep flocks from the Central-Northern Brazil. A panel of 20 highly polymorphic and informative microsatellite loci was selected and amplified. The following parameters were obtained: overall mean of number of alleles = 15.4; expected heterozygosity (He) = 0.89; polymorphism information content (PIC) = 0.88; discriminatory capacity = 0.95; combined probability of identity = 1.50 × 10−34; and probability of exclusion = 1.00. The flocks with the lowest and the highest degrees of genetic variability were Farm 6 (He = 0.70, PIC = 0.653, and allelic richness [Ar] = 3.76) and Farm 1 (He = 0.89, PIC = 0.882, and Ar = 4.39), respectively. Indications of genetic bottleneck were observed in all flocks, as well as moderate genetic differentiation, with FST = 0.053, RST = 0.096, and Dest = 0.169. The migration rate in all flocks was high, with a trend towards Farm 1. This finding was not in agreement with the substructure found with the Bayesian admixture analysis and corroborated the array obtained with the principal component analysis and the clustering analysis. The results revealed moderate structuring and high genetic diversity in the flocks. However, management strategies should be reviewed, as evidence of bottleneck and genetic erosion was observed.