Genetic Differentiation among Four Chinese Sheep Breeds

Gene flow was analyzed among 4 Chinese sheep breeds of Mongolian group by structural loci and microsatellite markers. The results showed that genetic differentiation coefficient obtained from structural loci was 0.0164-0.0455, while, obtained from microsatellite loci was 0.0107-0.0239, indicating that genetic differentiation level was very low among 4 sheep breeds. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) test indicated that most variations existed within breeds. Gene flow was fluent among breeds reflected from structural loci (Nm = 7.971) and microsatellite loci (Nm = 15.732). No obvious relevance existed between genetic difference and geographical distance. The findings demonstrated that genetic differentiation of sheep breeds of Mongolian group in China was mainly the impaction of natural selection (different environmental conditions).