title: Mitochondrial DNA genetic diversity in six Italian donkey breeds (Equus asinus).
abstract: Donkeys have played an important role in agricultural land practices and in human historical periods of recent past and, still today, are used as a working power in several world areas. The objective of this study was to identify genetic variability in six Italian donkey breeds using mtDNA D-loop. Fifteen haplotypes, grouped in three haplogroups, were identified. The genetic indices were informative and showed a high population genetic variability. The results of AMOVA analyses based on geographic structuring of Italian populations highlighted that the majority of the observed variance is due to differences among samples within breeds. Comparison among Italian haplotypes and mtDNA D-loop sequences belonging to European domestic and Ethiopian donkeys and wild asses, clearly define two clades referred to Nubian lineage. The results can be useful to complement safeguard planes for donkey breeds that are considered to extinction endangered.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valiati
authors.affiliation: b Agenzia per la ricerca in agricoltura-AGRIS Sardegna , Sassari , Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cherchi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gorla
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Raphaelle Teresa Matilde Maria
authors.initials: RTMM
authors.lastname: Prinsen
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Longeri
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagnato
authors.affiliation: a Department of Veterinary Medicine , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Giuseppina
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Strillacci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018397:Equidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D005002:Ethiopia; D005060:Europe; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006239:Haplotypes; D007558:Italy; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: D-loop; Italian donkeys; biodiversity; genetic variability; mitochondrial DNA