The Pentro horse: genetic characterization by microsatellite markers

Abstract

The Pentro horse population is an autochthonous breed from a breeding area characterized by climatic and geographicpeculiarities. The horse population is interesting because of its rusticity, however, has run the risk of loosing its identitybecause of the introduction of exotic genetic material. This study presents data of the genetic characterization by meansof microsatellite markers. A total of 12 microsatellite loci were used to score 147 individuals among those with the Pentrophenotype, as well as 16 individuals representing the variable part of the population. Allele frequencies were calculatedfor each locus, with the mean number of alleles (Nall = 6.7) and the expected heterozygosity (He = 0.724). The meanobserved heterozygosity was 0.695. The obtained data were used to compare the genetic structure of the Pentro horseto six other Italian breeds. The N-J tree computed on individual genetic distances showed that 93% of Pentro horses clusteredtogether.

Keywords

• Pentro horse, Microsatellite, Genetic biodiversity, Genetic distances