PSVI-23 Genetic characteristics and differentiation of four valid subspecies of snow sheep (Ovis nivicola) based on SNP analysis.

• Published in: Journal of Animal Science
• Main Authors: Dotsev, A, Deniskova, T, Okhlopkov, I, Medvedev, D, Sipko, T, Reyer, H, Wimmers, K, Brem, G, Zinovieva, N
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2018
• Subjects: Abstracts; Verkhoyansk; Kamchatka; Koryak; Yakut; Siberia
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6285183/; https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky404.1009

Snow sheep (Ovis nivicola) is endemic of North-East Siberia, Russia. To date, the taxonomy of this species, based primarily on morphological characteristics, is controversial. In order to clarify the taxonomy of snow sheep, modern molecular genetic approaches can be used. Here we applied Illumina Ovine 50K BeadChip to examine genetic characteristics and differentiation of four subspecies, which currently are considered as valid: Putorana (O.n.borealis) (PUT, n=7), Yakut (O.n.lydekkeri) (YAK, n=23), Koryak (O.n.koriakorum) (KOR, n=20) and Kamchatka (O.n.nivicola) (KAM, n=10). As long as Yakut snow sheep areal covers vast territories, this subspecies was represented by two groups from Verkhoyansk Range (YAK-1, n=15) and Momsky ridge (YAK-2, n=8). Statistical analysis was performed with PLINK 1.9, Structure 2.3.4, Genetix 4.05 software and R package “diveRsity”. After quality control, 1190 polymorphic SNP markers were selected for further investigations. Bayesian structure analysis revealed that at K=2 KAM and KOR were assigned to one distinct cluster and at K=3 PUT separated from the other groups. At K=4, which was determined as the most probable number of populations, all the subspecies were assigned to their clusters. However, four KAM individuals demonstrated an admixture pattern with KOR. Nei’s genetic distances (Nei, 1978) ranged from 0.037 between YAK-1 and YAK-2 to 0.206 between KAM and PUT. The distances between KAM and KOR, KOR and YAK-1, YAK-1 and PUT were 0.057, 0.060 and 0.149, respectively. Allelic richness (Ar) was lower in the isolated population PUT - 0.021 ± 0.003. In YAK-1, YAK-2, KOR these values were respectively: 1.642 ± 0.0012, 1.607 ± 0.014, and 1.620 ± 0.012, and significantly higher than in KAM – 1.501 ± 0.014. Our results demonstrated that the studied groups of snow sheep were genetically differentiated and confirmed their taxonomic status as subspecies. The samples were provided partly by the Mountain Hunters Club, Russia. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation ...