The Weight of Genetic Drift: A Pedigree-Based Evaluation of the Breton Horse Population in Brazil

Abstract

The genetic diversity of Breton horses in Brazil is a critical concern, mainly due to the small population size and low number of births per year. Given that the inbreeding was overlooked by breeders for multiple generations, we estimated the genetic diversity of this population utilizing pedigree-based measures of population diversity. A total of 1394 six-generation pedigrees representing the full population of registered Breton horses in Brazil defined a total population (TP, N = 2679), with horses born between 2000 and 2022, reproductively active and alive, as reported by the breed association, representing the reference population (RP, N = 731). Using the R package PurgeR, we estimated inbreeding coefficient (Fped), maternal inbreeding coefficient (Fda m), paternal inbreeding coefficient (Fsire), individual reproductive values, number of equivalents to complete generations (t), and unbiased ancestral inbreeding coefficient (Fa). We established the equivalent complete generations (ECG), effective population size (Ne), total number of founders (Nf), effective number of founders (Nfe), total number of ancestors (Na), effective number of ancestors (Nae), founder genomes (Ng), and the inbreeding coefficient estimated with effective population size (Ne) and generation numbers (t) (FNe:t), as well as Nfe/Nae and Nfe/Ng ratios for the RP. The RP inbreeding levels have stabilized, although they are still significantly rising by generation (t), and the Nfe/Ng ratio strongly suggests genetic drift. Pedigree-based analysis demonstrates that only five stallions have sired 52.83% of the RP individuals, which along with the Nae value of 36.73 implies that the observed inbreeding can be arising from patrilines. Our results suggest that observed inbreeding is due to Popular Sire Effect, highlighting the importance of monitoring breeding schemes and genetic diversity to maintain health.