title: The assessment of genetic diversity within and among the eight subpopulations of Japanese Black cattle using 52 microsatellite markers.
abstract: Japanese Black cattle are at risk for genetic homogeneity due to intensive use of a few sires. Therefore, assessment of the actual genetic diversity of this breed is important for future breeding plans. In the present study, we investigated the genetic diversity within and among eight subpopulations of Japanese Black cattle using 52 microsatellite markers. The parameters for genetic diversity of Japanese Black cattle were comparable to those of other cattle breeds, suggesting that the relatively high genetic diversity of the breed. However, upon comparison among the eight subpopulations, the Hyogo subpopulation showed markedly low genetic diversity. The results of the pairwise FST values, phylogenetic network and structure analysis indicated that the Hyogo population has remarkably high level of genetic differentiation from other populations, while Yamagata, Niigata, Hiroshima and Kagawa populations have low levels of genetic differentiation. Furthermore, multidimensional scaling plots indicated that individuals in some subpopulations were separated from individuals in the other subpopulations. We conclude that while the overall genetic diversity of Japanese Black cattle is still maintained at a relatively high level, that of a particular subpopulation is significantly reduced, and therefore the effective population size of the breed needs to be controlled by correct mating strategies.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishimaki
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ibi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Naohiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Tamako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuhashi
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Mayu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mannen
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasazaki
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunieda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D007564:Japan; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats
keywords: Japanese Black cattle; genetic diversity; microsatellite marker