Population structure and genetic characterization of two native Danish sheep breeds

ABSTRACT

Genetic diversity in livestock animals has become recognized as important genetic resource for future sustainable livestock production. Especially native breeds, adapted to their local environment, are of considerable interest. Here, we report a genome-wide characterization of two native Danish sheep breeds, the Danish Landrace sheep and the Danish White-Headed Marsh sheep. We investigated the genetic diversity both at national and European breed level using a European-derived reference panel. The native Danish breeds are genetically distinct from other Nordic breeds. Their closest relatives are Border Leicester, Galway, and Texel. Apart from gene flow between native Danish breeds, Texel admixture was most dominant. For Danish Landrace sheep, a population split into two genetically distinct sub-populations was detected. Compared to other livestock species, genomic inbreeding was moderate. However, among European-derived sheep the native Danish breeds were among the 10 most inbred investigated, illustrating the need for sustainable management strategies to preserve genetic diversity.

KEYWORDS:

• Ovis aries
• native Danish breeds
• origin
• genomic
• population structure

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food, The Danish Agricultural Agency (grant: 14-32640-000015). The authors greatly appreciate the technical assistance from Søren Svendsen from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University.

Data availability

The generated data supporting the findings of this study are available for research purposes from the authors [A.A.S., B.G.], upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri (grant: 14-32640-000015).