Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary

Dorper sheep was developed for meat production in arid and semi-arid regions under extensive production systems in South Africa. Two variants with distinct head and neck colors were bred during their development process. White Dorper have a white coat while Dorper have a black head and neck. Both va...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: George Wanjala, Putri Kusuma Astuti, Zoltán Bagi, Nelly Kichamu, Péter Strausz, Szilvia Kusza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/3/386
_version_ 1827751224807522304
author George Wanjala
Putri Kusuma Astuti
Zoltán Bagi
Nelly Kichamu
Péter Strausz
Szilvia Kusza
author_facet George Wanjala
Putri Kusuma Astuti
Zoltán Bagi
Nelly Kichamu
Péter Strausz
Szilvia Kusza
author_sort George Wanjala
collection DOAJ
description Dorper sheep was developed for meat production in arid and semi-arid regions under extensive production systems in South Africa. Two variants with distinct head and neck colors were bred during their development process. White Dorper have a white coat while Dorper have a black head and neck. Both variants have grown in popularity around the world. Therefore, understanding the genomic architecture between South African Dorpers and Dorper populations adapted to other climatic regions, as well as genomic differences between Dorper and White Dorper variants is vital for their molecular management. Using the ovine 50K SNP chip, this study compared the genetic architecture of Dorper variants between populations from South Africa and Hungary. The Dorper populations in both countries had high genetic diversity levels, although Dorper in Hungary showed high levels of inbreeding. White Dorpers from both countries were genetically closely related, while Dorpers were distantly related according to principal component analysis and neighbor-joining tree. Additionally, whereas all groups displayed unique selection signatures for local adaptation, Dorpers from Hungary had a similar linkage disequilibrium decay. Environmental differences and color may have influenced the genetic differentiation between the Dorpers. For their molecular management and prospective genomic selection, it is crucial to understand the Dorper sheep’s genomic architecture, and the results of this study can be interpreted as a step in this direction.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T06:54:16Z
format Article
id doaj.art-301baf179b494f3ba54827b83d3c9cdc
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2079-7737
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T06:54:16Z
publishDate 2023-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Biology
spelling doaj.art-301baf179b494f3ba54827b83d3c9cdc2023-11-17T09:41:28ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372023-02-0112338610.3390/biology12030386Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and HungaryGeorge Wanjala0Putri Kusuma Astuti1Zoltán Bagi2Nelly Kichamu3Péter Strausz4Szilvia Kusza5Centre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryCentre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryCentre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryDoctoral School of Animal Science, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryInstitute of Strategy and Management, Corvinus University of Budapest, 1093 Budapest, HungaryCentre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryDorper sheep was developed for meat production in arid and semi-arid regions under extensive production systems in South Africa. Two variants with distinct head and neck colors were bred during their development process. White Dorper have a white coat while Dorper have a black head and neck. Both variants have grown in popularity around the world. Therefore, understanding the genomic architecture between South African Dorpers and Dorper populations adapted to other climatic regions, as well as genomic differences between Dorper and White Dorper variants is vital for their molecular management. Using the ovine 50K SNP chip, this study compared the genetic architecture of Dorper variants between populations from South Africa and Hungary. The Dorper populations in both countries had high genetic diversity levels, although Dorper in Hungary showed high levels of inbreeding. White Dorpers from both countries were genetically closely related, while Dorpers were distantly related according to principal component analysis and neighbor-joining tree. Additionally, whereas all groups displayed unique selection signatures for local adaptation, Dorpers from Hungary had a similar linkage disequilibrium decay. Environmental differences and color may have influenced the genetic differentiation between the Dorpers. For their molecular management and prospective genomic selection, it is crucial to understand the Dorper sheep’s genomic architecture, and the results of this study can be interpreted as a step in this direction.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/3/386adaptationdorpergenetic diversitylinkage disequilibriummanagement best practicespopulation structure
spellingShingle George Wanjala
Putri Kusuma Astuti
Zoltán Bagi
Nelly Kichamu
Péter Strausz
Szilvia Kusza
Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
Biology
adaptation
dorper
genetic diversity
linkage disequilibrium
management best practices
population structure
title Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
title_full Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
title_fullStr Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
title_short Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary
title_sort assessing the genomics structure of dorper and white dorper variants and dorper populations in south africa and hungary
topic adaptation
dorper
genetic diversity
linkage disequilibrium
management best practices
population structure
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/3/386
work_keys_str_mv AT georgewanjala assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary
AT putrikusumaastuti assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary
AT zoltanbagi assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary
AT nellykichamu assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary
AT peterstrausz assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary
AT szilviakusza assessingthegenomicsstructureofdorperandwhitedorpervariantsanddorperpopulationsinsouthafricaandhungary