Assessing Genomic Inbreeding and Homozygosity Patterns in Hungarian Merino Sheep and its Relatives

Abstract

The Merino breed of sheep is one of the oldest breeds still in existence. All around the world, purebred and mixed populations of the Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds can be found. This is a result of their wide distribution and increasing popularity. They constitute a huge genetic resource that has been applied historically to create numerous new breeds. The current Hungarian Merino sheep breed has evolved over many years as a result of crossbreeding with different breeds. Consequently, the objective of this study is to compare the genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) and patterns of runs of homozygosity (ROH) between the Hungarian Merino and other closely related Merino breeds. Following Rambouillet, Hungarian Merino had the second highest number of ROH class of 1-6 mbs. The Spanish Merinos Cordoba had the most ROH class of > 48Mbs, while the Hungarian Merino had none. The FROH of Hungarian Merinos was comparable to that of other studied breeds, while Spanish Merinos Cordoba had the highest. This study confirms that Hungarian Merino has several intermediate ancestors, and its breeding management is comparable to other Merino breeds and may also indicate greater genetic diversity within the breed. The results can therefore be used to improve genomic management of Hungarian Merino sheep breed.

Keywords

• genetic diversity
• hungary
• inbreeding coefficient
• merino
• sheep
• snp markers