Abstract

In Italy several local sheep breeds and populations are reared, though most of them are endangered or in very critical conditions and, therefore, in need of conservation actions. This paper aims to outline the genetic relationship among nineteen Italian local and country-wide sheep breeds by the means of a multidimensional scaling analysis conducted over the allele sharing distance estimated from the genotypic data at the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip. The analysis highlighted the presence of a strong geographical gradient in the distribution of the genetic variability of the considered breeds, with a North to South main gradient, along which almost all the breeds were positioned, followed by a minor East to West gradient, discriminating insular breeds from continental breeds. The results suggest that historical events of admixture and gene flow among contiguous areas played a significant role in determining the current pattern of genetic diversity among the Italian breeds, consistently with traditional sheep management practices (extensive rearing and transhumance) characterizing the history of sheep breeding in the Italian peninsula.

Autore Pugliese

• Ciani Elena

Tutti gli autori

• CIANI E.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2012

ISSN

Non Disponibile

ISBN

978-9989-774-23-2

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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