Haplotype analysis of polymorphisms in the American mink (Neovison vison) growth hormone gene helps to explain the reasons for their linkage disequilibrium and ancestral haplotypes differentiation.

Sa？etak Haplotypes of the American mink (Neovison vison) growth hormone gene, phased from diploid multilocus genotypes of 389 individuals, were analysed. Forty-four different haplotypes, for 14 detected polymorphic loci, were identified. Significant gametic disequilibrium occurs in the case of four variable sites, with a correlation coefficient ranging from 50% to 94%. Four haplotype blocks were defined. The results of the D-statistics, conducted for the studied population, suggest that the observed linkage disequilibrium was caused by limited migration and genetic drift. Moreover, the described LD indicates a relatively low frequency of recombination events between variable loci of the American mink growth hormone gene. The developed cladogram reveals the existence of two distinctly different and internally consistent clades, which may indicate the existence of two main patterns of ancestral haplotypes, from which all the others derived. Moreover, the internal structure of the cladogram reveals their clear hierarchical arrangement, which allowed to draw conclusions regarding the origin-relationships of the identified haplotypes