Czechoslovakian Wolfdog Genomic Divergence from Its Ancestors Canis lupus , German Shepherd Dog, and Different Sheepdogs of European Origin

This study focused on the genomic differences between the Czechoslovakian wolfdog (CWD) and its ancestors, the Grey wolf (GW) and German Shepherd dog. The Saarloos wolfdog and Belgian Shepherd dog were also included to study the level of GW genetics retained in the genome of domesticated breeds. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genes
Main Authors: Nina Moravčíková, Radovan Kasarda, Radoslav Židek, Luboš Vostrý, Hana Vostrá-Vydrová, Jakub Vašek, Daniela Čílová
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
behaviour
dogs
genomic diversity
morphological traits
protein-coding genes
selection events
Genetics
QH426-470
Canis lupus
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12060832
https://doaj.org/article/9165ae23a6f54caa97f7e6617972b35b
Description
Summary:This study focused on the genomic differences between the Czechoslovakian wolfdog (CWD) and its ancestors, the Grey wolf (GW) and German Shepherd dog. The Saarloos wolfdog and Belgian Shepherd dog were also included to study the level of GW genetics retained in the genome of domesticated breeds. The dataset consisted of 131 animals and 143,593 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The effects of demographic history on the overall genome structure were determined by screening the distribution of the homozygous segments. The genetic variance distributed within and between groups was quantified by genetic distances, the F ST index, and discriminant analysis of principal components. Fine-scale population stratification due to specific morphological and behavioural traits was assessed by principal component and factorial analyses. In the CWD, a demographic history effect was manifested mainly in a high genome-wide proportion of short homozygous segments corresponding to a historical load of inbreeding derived from founders. The observed proportion of long homozygous segments indicated that the inbreeding events shaped the CWD genome relatively recently compared to other groups. Even if there was a significant increase in genetic similarity among wolf-like breeds, they were genetically separated from each other. Moreover, this study showed that the CWD genome carries private alleles that are not found in either wolves or other dog breeds analysed in this study.

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