%0 Journal Article
%T Genetic diversity of selected genes that are potentially economically important in feral sheep of New Zealand
%A Grant W McKenzie
%A Johanna Abbott
%A Huitong Zhou
%A Qian Fang
%A Norma Merrick
%A Rachel H Forrest
%A J Richard Sedcole
%A Jonathan G Hickford
%J Genetics Selection Evolution
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1297-9686-42-43
%X This study investigates variation in the genes KRTAP1-1, KRT33, ADRB3 and DQA2 in Merino-like feral sheep populations from New Zealand and its offshore islands. These genes have previously been shown to influence wool, lamb survival and animal health.All the genes were polymorphic, but no new allele was identified in the feral populations. In some of these populations, allele frequencies differed from those observed in commercial Merino sheep and other breeds found in New Zealand. Heterozygosity levels were comparable to those observed in other studies on feral sheep. Our results suggest that some of the feral populations may have been either inbred or outbred over the duration of their apparent isolation.The variation described here allows us to draw some conclusions about the likely genetic origin of the populations and selective pressures that may have acted upon them, but they do not appear to be a source of new genetic material, at least for these four genes.It is thought that livestock genetic variation has decreased through breed substitution and crossing of local and global breeds [1]. Accordingly, interest in feral populations has increased because they are potential sources of genetic variation that may have been lost in commercial sheep flocks [2,3]. It has been argued that reintroducing genetic variability could enhance production in commercial breeds [4].New Zealand (NZ) has eleven feral sheep populations either on the mainland, or on offshore islands [5]. The mainland populations originated from farmed sheep [6], while those on offshore islands either originated from farms, or were liberated as a food source for mariners [7]. These populations have been described previously [1,4,6,8-13].In this study, the level of genetic variation of four genes was determined in order to ascertain whether the isolation of these flocks had preserved greater genetic diversity compared to their commercial counterparts in NZ. These four genes are located on three differen
%U http://www.gsejournal.org/content/42/1/43