Genetic characterization of Mexican Pelibuey sheep using microsatellite markers

This study aimed to genetically characterize 23 subpopulations of the Mexican Pelibuey sheep and a Cuban flock using nine microsatellite markers. A total of 99 alleles and a polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.84 were observed. The observed FIS, FST, and FIT were 0.007, 0.151, and 0.158, respectively. Three primers (OarFCB304, OarJMP29, and ILSTS5) showed deviations in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE; P<0.05). In a subpopulation analysis, the number of alleles per subpopulation ranged from 28 to 49, the mean number of alleles (MNA) was 4.08, and the effective number of alleles (NE) was 3.25. The observed and expected heterozygosity values were 0.726 and 0.731, respectively. Six of the 24 evaluated subpopulations showed deviations of the HWE (P<0.05). The FIS values by subpopulation varied between -0.71 and 0.138. Nine private alleles were detected, and no shared alleles were observed. Using a principal component analysis (PCA), subpopulations were grouped into two clusters. Mantel's test determined that the genetic distance (measured by Nei's unbiased minimum distances) was not related to the geographic distance (r= -0.062; P>0.05). The population structure analysis determined two founder populations (K), similar to the PCA. This study concludes that the Pelibuey sheep in Mexico have high genetic diversity and that its subpopulations are grouped into two clusters, one of which shows the most preserved genetic material.