Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i>
In theoretical biology, a prevailing hypothesis posits a profound interconnection between effective population size (<i>N</i><sub>e</sub>), genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load. The domestication and improvement processes are believed to be pivotal in diminishing g...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Genes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/10/1977 |
| _version_ | 1797626708331855872 |
|---|---|
| author | Dongfeng Wang Hosein Salehian-Dehkordi Langda Suo Fenghua Lv |
| author_facet | Dongfeng Wang Hosein Salehian-Dehkordi Langda Suo Fenghua Lv |
| author_sort | Dongfeng Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In theoretical biology, a prevailing hypothesis posits a profound interconnection between effective population size (<i>N</i><sub>e</sub>), genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load. The domestication and improvement processes are believed to be pivotal in diminishing genetic diversity while elevating levels of inbreeding and increasing genetic load. In this study, we performed a whole genome analysis to quantity genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load across seven wild <i>Ovis</i> species and five domesticated sheep breeds. Our research demonstrates that the genetic load and diversity of species in the genus <i>Ovis</i> have no discernible impact on recent <i>N</i><sub>e</sub>, and three species within the subgenus <i>Pachyceros</i> tend to carry a higher genetic load and lower genetic diversity patterns. The results coincide with these species’ dramatic decline in population sizes within the subgenus <i>Pachyceros</i> ~80–250 thousand years ago. European mouflon presented with the lowest <i>N</i><sub>e</sub>, lower genetic diversity, and higher individual inbreeding coefficient but a lower genetic load (missense and LoF). This suggests that the small <i>N</i><sub>e</sub> of European mouflon could reduce harmful mutations compared to other species within the genus <i>Ovis</i>. We showed lower genetic diversity in domesticated sheep than in Asiatic mouflon, but counterintuitive patterns of genetic load, i.e., lower weak genetic load (missense mutation) and no significant difference in strong genetic load (LoF mutation) between domestic sheep and Asiatic mouflon. These findings reveal that the “cost of domestication” during domestication and improvement processes reduced genetic diversity and purified weak genetic load more efficiently than wild species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:15:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a95f1d640d9f4613815d08b90cc6299f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:15:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genes |
| spelling | doaj.art-a95f1d640d9f4613815d08b90cc6299f2023-11-16T10:29:58ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252023-10-011410197710.3390/genes14101977Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i>Dongfeng Wang0Hosein Salehian-Dehkordi1Langda Suo2Fenghua Lv3CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100101, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaInstitute of Animal Science, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa 850009, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaIn theoretical biology, a prevailing hypothesis posits a profound interconnection between effective population size (<i>N</i><sub>e</sub>), genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load. The domestication and improvement processes are believed to be pivotal in diminishing genetic diversity while elevating levels of inbreeding and increasing genetic load. In this study, we performed a whole genome analysis to quantity genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load across seven wild <i>Ovis</i> species and five domesticated sheep breeds. Our research demonstrates that the genetic load and diversity of species in the genus <i>Ovis</i> have no discernible impact on recent <i>N</i><sub>e</sub>, and three species within the subgenus <i>Pachyceros</i> tend to carry a higher genetic load and lower genetic diversity patterns. The results coincide with these species’ dramatic decline in population sizes within the subgenus <i>Pachyceros</i> ~80–250 thousand years ago. European mouflon presented with the lowest <i>N</i><sub>e</sub>, lower genetic diversity, and higher individual inbreeding coefficient but a lower genetic load (missense and LoF). This suggests that the small <i>N</i><sub>e</sub> of European mouflon could reduce harmful mutations compared to other species within the genus <i>Ovis</i>. We showed lower genetic diversity in domesticated sheep than in Asiatic mouflon, but counterintuitive patterns of genetic load, i.e., lower weak genetic load (missense mutation) and no significant difference in strong genetic load (LoF mutation) between domestic sheep and Asiatic mouflon. These findings reveal that the “cost of domestication” during domestication and improvement processes reduced genetic diversity and purified weak genetic load more efficiently than wild species.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/10/1977<i>Ovis</i>genetic diversitygenetic loadeffective populationdomesticationimprovement |
| spellingShingle | Dongfeng Wang Hosein Salehian-Dehkordi Langda Suo Fenghua Lv Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> Genes <i>Ovis</i> genetic diversity genetic load effective population domestication improvement |
| title | Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> |
| title_full | Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> |
| title_short | Impacts of Population Size and Domestication Process on Genetic Diversity and Genetic Load in Genus <i>Ovis</i> |
| title_sort | impacts of population size and domestication process on genetic diversity and genetic load in genus i ovis i |
| topic | <i>Ovis</i> genetic diversity genetic load effective population domestication improvement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/10/1977 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dongfengwang impactsofpopulationsizeanddomesticationprocessongeneticdiversityandgeneticloadingenusiovisi AT hoseinsalehiandehkordi impactsofpopulationsizeanddomesticationprocessongeneticdiversityandgeneticloadingenusiovisi AT langdasuo impactsofpopulationsizeanddomesticationprocessongeneticdiversityandgeneticloadingenusiovisi AT fenghualv impactsofpopulationsizeanddomesticationprocessongeneticdiversityandgeneticloadingenusiovisi |