Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the the Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog – Sharplanina and its phylogenetic relationship within and between breeds

Abstract

The Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog – Sharplanina belongs to the group of Molosser type dog breeds and is an autochthonous dog breed in southwestern Kosovo and northwestern North Macedonia. This breed is characterised by its genetic diversity in the mitochondrial DNA. In our research we found nine haplotypes grouped into three main clades A, B and C, with distribution rates of 43 %, 43 % and 14 %, respectively. Our analyses show that the “Sharplanina dog” exhibits a remarkable genetic heterogeneity, which makes it very difficult to determine its origin and to correlate the haplotypes with the geographical location of the collected samples. The geographical proximity of the breed’s origin to the habitat of the extinct ancient Molossian hound and the similarities of its haplotypes with certain dog breeds in Europe and East Asia make it a very interesting breed for further research.

Keywords

• livestock guardian dogs
• breeds
• Sharplanina shepherd dog
• genetics
• phylogenetics
• haplotype