ABSTRACT
The Gidran is a native Hungarian horse breed that has approached extinction several times. Phylogenetic analysis of two mitochondrial markers (D-loop and cytochrome-b) was performed to determine the genetic characterization of the Gidran for the first time as well as to detect errors in the management of the Gidran stud book. Sequencing of 686 bp of CYTB and 202 bp of the D-loop in 260 mares revealed 24 and 32 haplotypes, respectively, among 31 mare families. BLAST analysis revealed six novel CYTB and four D-loop haplotypes that have not been previously reported. The Gidran mares showed high haplotype (CYTB: 0.8735 ± 0.011; D-loop: 0.9136 ± 0.008) and moderate nucleotide (CYTB: 0.00472 ± 0.00017; D-loop: 0.02091 ± 0.00068) diversity. Of the 31 Gidran mare families, only 15 CYTB (48.4%) and 17 D-loop (54.8%) distinct haplotypes were formed using the two markers separately. Merged markers created 24 (77.4%) mare families, which were in agreement with the mare families in the stud book. Our key finding was that the Gidran breed still possesses high genetic diversity despite its history. The obtained haplotypes are mostly consistent with known mare families, particularly when the two mtDNA markers were merged. Our results could facilitate conservation efforts for preserving the genetic diversity of the Gidran.
ABSTRACT
Genetic polymorphism at the ß-lactoglobulin (ß-LG) loci in indigenous sheep breeds (Tsigai, Racka, Pramenka) was determined. Altogether 904 sheep were genotyped for the presence of the A, B and C alleles of ß-lactoglobulin by PCR-RFLP. The AB genotype was the most common and the ß-lactoglobulin A was the most frequent in the Cokanski Tsigai (54%), while the B allele was the most common in the Rusty and the Zomborski Tsigai (59%, 60%). The C allele was found only in one individual from Serbian Cokanski flock. These results differ from those that refer to other native sheep breeds. In the Cokanski Tsigai, deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected. Genetic relationship based on ß-lactoglobulin polymorphism was the closest between the Rusty and the Cokanski Tsigai among the studied populations and between sheep and goat among the other ruminants. Part of the promoter region (254 bp) of ß-LG in studied sheep breeds were sequenced in order to identify polymorphisms, analyze haplotypes, and phylogenetic relationship among them. Sequencing analysis and alignment of the obtained sequences showed one haplotype. Analysis of more samples and longer parts of the promoter region of ß-LG are needed to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree.
