title: Genetic diversity and patterns of population structure in Creole goats from the Americas.
abstract: Biodiversity studies are more efficient when large numbers of breeds belonging to several countries are involved, as they allow for an in-depth analysis of the within- and between-breed components of genetic diversity. A set of 21 microsatellites was used to investigate the genetic composition of 24 Creole goat breeds (910 animals) from 10 countries to estimate levels of genetic variability, infer population structure and understand genetic relationships among populations across the American continent. Three commercial transboundary breeds were included in the analyses to investigate admixture with Creole goats. Overall, the genetic diversity of Creole populations (mean number of alleles = 5.82 ± 1.14, observed heterozygosity = 0.585 ± 0.074) was moderate and slightly lower than what was detected in other studies with breeds from other regions. The Bayesian clustering analysis without prior information on source populations identified 22 breed clusters. Three groups comprised more than one population, namely from Brazil (Azul and Graúna; Moxotó and Repartida) and Argentina (Long and shorthair Chilluda, Pampeana Colorada and Angora-type goat). Substructure was found in Criolla Paraguaya. When prior information on sample origin was considered, 92% of the individuals were assigned to the source population (threshold q ≥ 0.700). Creole breeds are well-differentiated entities (mean coefficient of genetic differentiation = 0.111 ± 0.048, with the exception of isolated island populations). Dilution from admixture with commercial transboundary breeds appears to be negligible. Significant levels of inbreeding were detected (inbreeding coefficient > 0 in most Creole goat populations, P < 0.05). Our results provide a broad perspective on the extant genetic diversity of Creole goats, however further studies are needed to understand whether the observed geographical patterns of population structure may reflect the mode of goat colonization in the Americas.
authors.affiliation: CIBIO-InBIO - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas n. 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ginja
authors.affiliation: CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sevane
authors.affiliation: Martin-Burriel, Laboratorio de Genética Bioquímica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martin-Burriel
authors.affiliation: Area de Producción Animal, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria EEA, Bariloche, Argentina.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lanari
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Revidatti
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Zulia, Maracaibo-Zulia, Venezuela.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Aranguren-Méndez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria EEA Anguil "Ing. Agr. Guillermo Covas", Bariloche, Argentina.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Bedotti
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sponenberg
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja, Ecuador.|Grupo de Melhoramento Animal e Biotecnologias GMAB-FZEA-USP, Brazil.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Palmira, Colombia.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Franco
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: M P C
authors.initials: MPC
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi, La Maná, Ecuador.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chacón
authors.affiliation: Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galarza
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional Micaela Bastidas de Apurímac, Abancay, Perú.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gómez-Urviola
authors.affiliation: Centro Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Tecnológicas, Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo, Paraguay.
authors.forename: O R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Martínez-López
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Pimenta-Filho
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.affiliation: Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stemmer
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Landi
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario ceiA3, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Delgado-Bermejo
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000569:Americas; D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001947:Breeding; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006041:Goats / Q000235:genetics*; D006579:Heterozygote; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers
keywords: admixture; biodiversity; domestic goats; genetic structure; short tandem repeats