Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed
The Graciosa donkey has been associated with husbandry and social activities in Graciosa Island for decades. Although donkeys played an essential role in the development of the island, their numbers are severely reduced. The Graciosa donkey is characterised by its small stature, strong bony constitu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Applied Animal Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09712119.2023.2171421 |
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| author | Maria Susana Lopes Ana Rita Azevedo Duarte Mendonça Horst Rojer Verónica Cabral Franco Ceraolo Carlos Canto Brum Bruno Mendes Artur da Câmara Machado |
| author_facet | Maria Susana Lopes Ana Rita Azevedo Duarte Mendonça Horst Rojer Verónica Cabral Franco Ceraolo Carlos Canto Brum Bruno Mendes Artur da Câmara Machado |
| author_sort | Maria Susana Lopes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Graciosa donkey has been associated with husbandry and social activities in Graciosa Island for decades. Although donkeys played an essential role in the development of the island, their numbers are severely reduced. The Graciosa donkey is characterised by its small stature, strong bony constitution and strong hooves. They are extremely gentle, patient and submissive fully integrated into the island's ecosystem. As so they must be considered as elements of an environmentally sustainable ecosystem. This study aimed to define the morphotype of the Graciosa donkey and to access its genetic diversity using microsatellite markers. Biometric data consisted of 15 morphological traits from 39 individuals. The Graciosa donkey is dolichocephalic, hypermetric according to the dactilothoracic index, hypometric regarding the approximate live weight and far from ground. Twenty-four individuals, which showed no kinship, based on results of 13 markers were considered as founders and were genotyped for two additional markers and further analysed in this study. All microsatellites used were polymorphic, but low levels of genetic diversity were identified. As the Graciosa donkey gains popularity, the information obtained from this study will be very useful for conservation and management purposes by safeguarding its genetic diversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:09:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b7b9f210b72c42af84f9a8dd21bc9717 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0971-2119 0974-1844 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-21T18:42:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Applied Animal Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-b7b9f210b72c42af84f9a8dd21bc97172024-06-06T22:28:21ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Applied Animal Research0971-21190974-18442023-12-0151116617310.1080/09712119.2023.2171421Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breedMaria Susana Lopes0Ana Rita Azevedo1Duarte Mendonça2Horst Rojer3Verónica Cabral4Franco Ceraolo5Carlos Canto Brum6Bruno Mendes7Artur da Câmara Machado8Centro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalCentro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalCentro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalCentro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalCentro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalAssociação de Criadores e Amigos do Burro Anão da Ilha Graciosa, Açores, PortugalAssociação de Criadores e Amigos do Burro Anão da Ilha Graciosa, Açores, PortugalCRL, Unicol-Cooperativa Agrícola, Açores, PortugalCentro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, PortugalThe Graciosa donkey has been associated with husbandry and social activities in Graciosa Island for decades. Although donkeys played an essential role in the development of the island, their numbers are severely reduced. The Graciosa donkey is characterised by its small stature, strong bony constitution and strong hooves. They are extremely gentle, patient and submissive fully integrated into the island's ecosystem. As so they must be considered as elements of an environmentally sustainable ecosystem. This study aimed to define the morphotype of the Graciosa donkey and to access its genetic diversity using microsatellite markers. Biometric data consisted of 15 morphological traits from 39 individuals. The Graciosa donkey is dolichocephalic, hypermetric according to the dactilothoracic index, hypometric regarding the approximate live weight and far from ground. Twenty-four individuals, which showed no kinship, based on results of 13 markers were considered as founders and were genotyped for two additional markers and further analysed in this study. All microsatellites used were polymorphic, but low levels of genetic diversity were identified. As the Graciosa donkey gains popularity, the information obtained from this study will be very useful for conservation and management purposes by safeguarding its genetic diversity.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09712119.2023.2171421Equus asinusAzoresmorphotypegenetic diversityconservation |
| spellingShingle | Maria Susana Lopes Ana Rita Azevedo Duarte Mendonça Horst Rojer Verónica Cabral Franco Ceraolo Carlos Canto Brum Bruno Mendes Artur da Câmara Machado Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed Journal of Applied Animal Research Equus asinus Azores morphotype genetic diversity conservation |
| title | Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed |
| title_full | Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed |
| title_fullStr | Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed |
| title_short | Morphological and genetic characterization of the Graciosa donkey breed |
| title_sort | morphological and genetic characterization of the graciosa donkey breed |
| topic | Equus asinus Azores morphotype genetic diversity conservation |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/09712119.2023.2171421 |
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