African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12488

Full Length Research Paper

Genetic structure and variability within and among populations of the fat-tailed Barbarine sheep breed using microsatellites markers

Y. Ben Sassi-Zaidy
  • Y. Ben Sassi-Zaidy
  • Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis UR 11ES11 Bio-Ecologie et Systématique Evolutive, 2092 Tunis, Tunisie. Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy
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F. Maretto
  • F. Maretto
  • Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy
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E. Zanetti
  • E. Zanetti
  • Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy
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G. M. Hajji
  • G. M. Hajji
  • Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Olshausenstraße 40, 24118 Kiel, Germany
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F. Charfi-Cheikrouha
  • F. Charfi-Cheikrouha
  • Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis UR 11ES11 Bio-Ecologie et Systématique Evolutive, 2092 Tunis, Tunisie
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M. Cassandro
  • M. Cassandro
  • Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy
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  •  Received: 10 October 2013
  •  Accepted: 17 December 2013
  •  Published: 01 January 2014

Abstract

This study investigates the genetic diversity and the structure of the most dominant native fat-tailed Tunisian sheep breed (Barbarine, BAR) using microsatellite markers. Blood samples from 183 BAR animals, belonging to 4 subpopulations according to phenotypic traits, were collected across all regions in Tunisia. BAR animals and 31 Appenninica Italian sheep breed (APP) used as an out-group were genotyped at 17 microsatellites loci. A total of 270 alleles were identified with average gene diversity equal to 0.812. The mean observed heterozygosity (0.745) and allelic richness (8.09) estimates were high within BAR breed highlighting notable levels of genetic diversity. The low FIS (0.078) and FIT (0.084) values indicate low level of inbreeding within this breed while a low FST estimate (0.007) shows that the subpopulations are not genetically differentiated. The clustering analysis performed with ‘structure’ detected the absence of substructures and the clear uniqueness of the BAR. Tomiuk and Loeschcke’s DTL genetic distance values confirmed the distinction between APP and BAR breeds. Results arising from our microsatellites analysis represent a starting point for the valorization of this indigenous Tunisian sheep breed. A suggestion was made to monitor its genetic variability and for the preservation of this breed for the next generations.

 

Key words: Tunisian Barbarine sheep breed, microsatellite markers, genetic variability, population structure.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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