Genomic descriptors of biodiversity – A review

Abstract

The characterization of livestock genetic diversity has experienced extensive changes with the availability of dense nucleotide markers. Among the various forms of markers, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have arguably the largest influence. A wide range of indicators for the assessment of genetic diversity was developed, or the existing methods were improved, enabling us to make informed decisions on the management of livestock populations. This review discusses the selected aspects of diversity assessment, with special attention to the SNP based methods.

Keywords

• single nucleotide polymorphism
• linkage disequilibrium
• population structure
• inbreeding
• livestock
• einzelnukleotid-polymorphismus
• linkage-disequilibrium
• populationsstruktur
• inzucht
• nutztiere