Selection Signatures in Italian Livestock Guardian and Herding Shepherd Dogs
Livestock guardian (LGD) and herding shepherd (HSD) dogs have distinct morphological and behavioural characteristics, long selected by farmers and breeders, to accomplish different tasks. This study aimed to find the genomic regions that best differentiate and characterise Italian LGD and HSD. Genom...
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Published in | Veterinary sciences Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 3 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
MDPI AG
21.12.2022
MDPI |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Livestock guardian (LGD) and herding shepherd (HSD) dogs have distinct morphological and behavioural characteristics, long selected by farmers and breeders, to accomplish different tasks. This study aimed to find the genomic regions that best differentiate and characterise Italian LGD and HSD. Genomic data of 158 dogs of four LGD and five HSD breeds, obtained with the 170K canine SNPchip, were collected. The two groups were compared using F
and XP-EHH analyses, identifying regions containing 29 genes. Moreover, 16 islands of runs of homozygosity were found in LGD, and 15 in HSD; 4 of them were partially shared. Among the genes found that better differentiated HSD and LGD, several were associated with dog domestication and behavioural aspects; particularly,
and
were linked to herding behaviour in previous studies. Others,
,
, and
, were related to body size and muscle development. Prick ears prevailed in sampled HSD, and drop ears in LGD; this explains the identification of
and
genes. Unexpectedly, a number of genes were also associated with eye development and functionality. These results shed further light on the differences that human selection introduced in dogs aimed at different duties, even in a limited geographic area such as Italy. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2306-7381 2306-7381 |
DOI: | 10.3390/vetsci10010003 |