title: Analysis of the genetic structure of endangered bovine breeds from the Western Pyrenees using DNA microsatellite markers.
abstract: In the Western Pyrenees, three out of four native cattle breeds are in grave danger of extinction. Genetic variation of all four breeds was assessed by analyzing 478 animals using 11 microsatellite markers. A moderate/high within-breed variability was found, a favorable factor to consider when planning conservation and improvement programs. Interestingly, the only selected commercial breed, the Pirenaica, showed depressed heterozygosity levels and a low average number of alleles, perhaps explainable by intensive human selection exacerbated by a bottleneck effect. The Pirenaica also exhibited pronounced genetic differences and was the largest contributor of diversity among the breeds from the Western Pyrenees. Among endangered cattle breeds from this region, our results highlight the singularity of the Betizu. Geographic isolation among herds may be responsible for the large F(IS) value found in the Betizu breed. Lastly, our study suggests that the use of highly selected breeds may be one of the causes of distortion in phylogenetic analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of the Basque Country, P.O.B. 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rendo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iriondo
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Jugo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Mazón
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vicario
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Estonba
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006579:Heterozygote; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010802:Phylogeny; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013030:Spain; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers