Genetic Diversity in Ungulate Populations

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7866

Special Issue Editors

L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Dubrovitsy, Podolsk Municipal District, Moscow Region, 142132 Podolsk, Russia
Interests: genetic diversity; microsatellites; genetics; SNP analysis; mitochondrial DNA; biodiversity; molecular phylogenetics; phylogenetic analysis; ecology and evolution
L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Dubrovitsy 60, 142132 Podolsk City, Moscow, Russia
Interests: population genetics; GWAS; gene pool; biodiversity; genomic selection; selection signature; breeding programs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ungulate species are distributed throughout the world and play an important role in many ecosystems. Being large herbivores, they influence the formation of landscapes, and at the same time represent key prey for large predators. Since the main species of domesticated animals belong to ungulates, they also play an important role in human life, providing people with meat, milk, wool, transport, etc.

New insights into the genetic diversity of ungulates will help in developing conservation programs for these crucial animal species.

This Special Issue is devoted to the study of the genetic diversity and phylogeny of wild and domestic ungulates using modern genetic methods: whole-genome sequencing, SNP genotyping, and the study of mitochondrial DNA, the Y chromosome, microsatellites, etc.

Dr. Arsen Dotsev
Dr. Alexander A. Sermyagin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • wild and domestic species
  • biodiversity
  • evolution
  • phylogenetics
  • SNPs
  • admixture
  • mitochondrial DNA

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3283 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Insights into Intraspecific Taxonomy and Genetic Diversity of Argali (Ovis ammon)
by Arsen Dotsev, Olga Koshkina, Veronika Kharzinova, Tatiana Deniskova, Henry Reyer, Elisabeth Kunz, Gábor Mészáros, Alexey Shakhin, Sergey Petrov, Dmitry Medvedev, Alexander Kuksin, Ganchimeg Bat-Erdene, Bariushaa Munkhtsog, Vugar Bagirov, Klaus Wimmers, Johann Sölkner, Ivica Medugorac and Natalia Zinovieva
Diversity 2023, 15(5), 627; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15050627 - 05 May 2023
Viewed by 1435
Abstract
Argali (Ovis ammon), the largest species among all wild sheep, is native to mountainous regions of Central and East Asia, spreading mainly throughout such countries as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Russia and China. Intraspecific taxonomy of argali remains unclear, and [...] Read more.
Argali (Ovis ammon), the largest species among all wild sheep, is native to mountainous regions of Central and East Asia, spreading mainly throughout such countries as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Russia and China. Intraspecific taxonomy of argali remains unclear, and currently, most researchers recognize up to nine subspecies. The aim of our work was to investigate the phylogenetic relationship between populations of O. ammon based on genome-wide SNP analysis. Five subspecies, Altai (O. a. ammon) (n = 6), Gobi (O. a. darwini) (n = 5), Pamir (O. a. polii) (n = 12), Tian Shan (O.a. karelini) (n = 15) and Kyzylkum (O. a. severtzovi) (n = 4), were genotyped using Illumina OvineHD BeadChip. In addition, complete mitogenome sequences from 30 of those samples were obtained. After quality control procedures, 65,158 SNPs were selected for the subsequent analyses. Neighbor-Net dendrogram and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the five subspecies could be grouped into four clusters. It was shown that a population from Altai formed a cluster with Gobi subspecies. The highest pairwise FST genetic distance was between O. a. ammon and O. a. severtzovi (0.421) and the lowest were between O. a. polii and O.a. karelini (0.083) and between O. a. ammon and O. a. darwini (0.040) subspecies. Genetic diversity was higher in Central Asian argali as compared to East Asian populations. O. a. severtzovi had an admixed origin and consisted of two genetic components—73.5 ± 0.2% of O. a. polli and 26.5 ± 0.2% of urial (O. vignei). TreeMix analysis revealed a migration event from urial to O. a. severtzovi argali. The analysis of complete mitogenomes supported the results based on whole-genome genotyping. Considering that all the mtDNA sequences of O. a severtzovi belonged to O. ammon and not to O. vignei, we concluded that gene flow in this group was associated with urial males. As this is only the first work on intraspecific taxonomy and genetic diversity of argali based on genome-wide SNP genotyping and the analysis of complete mitogenomes, we suggest that more genetic studies are needed to clarify the status of Gobi and Tian Shan argali. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity in Ungulate Populations)
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18 pages, 1658 KiB  
Article
Introduced, Mixed, and Peripheral: Conservation of Mitochondrial-DNA Lineages in the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa L.) Population in the Urals
by Nikolay I. Markov, Maryana N. Ranyuk, Elmar A. Babaev, Ivan V. Seryodkin, Alexander V. Senchik, Elena A. Bykova, Alexander V. Esipov, Sabir T. Nurtazin, Olga S. Pavlova and Vera A. Matrosova
Diversity 2022, 14(11), 916; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14110916 - 27 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1725
Abstract
Translocations and introductions are important events that allow organisms to overcome natural barriers. The genetic background of colonization success and genetic consequences of the establishment of populations in new environments are of great interest for predicting species’ colonization success. The wild boar has [...] Read more.
Translocations and introductions are important events that allow organisms to overcome natural barriers. The genetic background of colonization success and genetic consequences of the establishment of populations in new environments are of great interest for predicting species’ colonization success. The wild boar has been introduced into many parts of the world. We analyzed sequences of the mitochondrial-DNA control region in the wild boars introduced into the Ural region and compared them with sequences from founder populations (from Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East). We found that the introduced population has high genetic diversity. Haplotypes from all the major phylogenetic clades were detected in the analyzed group of the animals from the Urals. In this group, no haplotypes identical to Far Eastern sequences were detectable despite a large number of founders from that region. The contribution of lineages originating from Eastern Europe was greater than expected from the proportions (%) of European and Asian animals in the founder populations. This is the first study on the genetic diversity and structure of a wild boar population of mixed origin at the northern periphery of this species’ geographical range. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity in Ungulate Populations)
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9 pages, 1788 KiB  
Article
Islands as Time Capsules for Genetic Diversity Conservation: The Case of the Giglio Island Mouflon
by Mario Barbato, Marco Masseti, Monica Pirastru, Nicolò Columbano, Monica Scali, Rita Vignani and Paolo Mereu
Diversity 2022, 14(8), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14080609 - 28 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4101
Abstract
The use of multidisciplinary approaches of investigation including biological, biogeographical, historical, morphological, and genetic analysis, can be useful in identifying and preserving biodiversity. The present study focuses on the characterisation and conservation of a mouflon population (Ovis gmelini musimon) from the [...] Read more.
The use of multidisciplinary approaches of investigation including biological, biogeographical, historical, morphological, and genetic analysis, can be useful in identifying and preserving biodiversity. The present study focuses on the characterisation and conservation of a mouflon population (Ovis gmelini musimon) from the Mediterranean island of Giglio. Here we provide the first molecular data on the Giglio population and compare it with mouflons from Sardinia, Elba, and Corsica using both nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Our results suggest that the Giglio mouflon harbours genetic variability likely of Sardinian origin but not represented in the current Sardinian mouflon diversity. Although not presenting the typical characteristics of an invasive alien species, the Giglio mouflon is being subjected to eradication through culling or trapping and surgical sterilization. The molecular evidence we report highlights that such actions are causing the irremediable loss of ancestral genetic variants of the genus Ovis. Finally, we highlight how a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to aid the conservation and management of the anthropochorous populations of Mediterranean mammals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity in Ungulate Populations)
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