The Ventasso Horse (VH) is a native Italian breed selected for saddle, and its name comes from Mount Ventasso, located in the province of Reggio Emilia. According to the FAO, the small number of the VH population of about 300 individual, place the VH in the list of endangered breeds. Molecular characterization is an essential tool to developing an effective conservation program for VH. The evaluation of the genetic structure of VH was investigated using 12 microsatellites (HTG10, VHL20, HTG7, HTG4, AHT5, AHT4, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, LEX03, HMS2, ASB2) including the 9 markers recommended for parentage testing by the International Society of Animal Genetics. The analyses were carried out on 118 VH individuals. Comparison with 11 other breeds reared in Italy (64 Anglo-Arab – AA, 202 Arab – AR, 46 Bardigiano - BA, 73 Haflinger - HF, 128 Italian Trotter - IT, 36 Lipizzan - LP, 50 Maremmano - MA, 42 Murgese - MU, 15 Sanfratellano - SA, 82 Rapid Heavy Draft - RD, 53 Thoroughbreed – TB) was studied. The GENEPOP and DISPAN software packages were used to calculate allele frequencies, average heterozygosity, Ht, Hs, Gst, genetic distances and phylogenetic trees. All microsatellites were polymorphic in VH and in the other breeds. A total of 124 alleles (from 6 to 19 alleles per microsatellite) were detected. Average heterozygosity was 0.745 in VH and ranged from 0.642 to 0.762 in the other breeds. Gene differentiation coefficient (Gst) had an average value of 0.097. Genetic distances were calculated using Nei’s standard genetic distance (Ds) and Nei’s genetic distance corrected for small samples (Da) using all markers but the sex-linked microsatellites LEX03. Phylogenetic trees constructed using Neighbour-joining method showed two clear separate clusters: the first includes the VH, AA and TB, the second contains the BA, HF and RD. This result is consistent with the studbook registrations reporting the use of AA stallions to improve VH breed in the last twenty years.
Bigi D., Zambonelli P., Perrotta G., Blasi M. (2006). Genetic characterization of the Ventasso Horse compared with other horse breeds reared in Italy by means of microsatellites. PORTO SEGURO : s.n.
Genetic characterization of the Ventasso Horse compared with other horse breeds reared in Italy by means of microsatellites
BIGI, DANIELE;ZAMBONELLI, PAOLO;
2006
Abstract
The Ventasso Horse (VH) is a native Italian breed selected for saddle, and its name comes from Mount Ventasso, located in the province of Reggio Emilia. According to the FAO, the small number of the VH population of about 300 individual, place the VH in the list of endangered breeds. Molecular characterization is an essential tool to developing an effective conservation program for VH. The evaluation of the genetic structure of VH was investigated using 12 microsatellites (HTG10, VHL20, HTG7, HTG4, AHT5, AHT4, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, LEX03, HMS2, ASB2) including the 9 markers recommended for parentage testing by the International Society of Animal Genetics. The analyses were carried out on 118 VH individuals. Comparison with 11 other breeds reared in Italy (64 Anglo-Arab – AA, 202 Arab – AR, 46 Bardigiano - BA, 73 Haflinger - HF, 128 Italian Trotter - IT, 36 Lipizzan - LP, 50 Maremmano - MA, 42 Murgese - MU, 15 Sanfratellano - SA, 82 Rapid Heavy Draft - RD, 53 Thoroughbreed – TB) was studied. The GENEPOP and DISPAN software packages were used to calculate allele frequencies, average heterozygosity, Ht, Hs, Gst, genetic distances and phylogenetic trees. All microsatellites were polymorphic in VH and in the other breeds. A total of 124 alleles (from 6 to 19 alleles per microsatellite) were detected. Average heterozygosity was 0.745 in VH and ranged from 0.642 to 0.762 in the other breeds. Gene differentiation coefficient (Gst) had an average value of 0.097. Genetic distances were calculated using Nei’s standard genetic distance (Ds) and Nei’s genetic distance corrected for small samples (Da) using all markers but the sex-linked microsatellites LEX03. Phylogenetic trees constructed using Neighbour-joining method showed two clear separate clusters: the first includes the VH, AA and TB, the second contains the BA, HF and RD. This result is consistent with the studbook registrations reporting the use of AA stallions to improve VH breed in the last twenty years.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
