Genetic relationship among several pig populations in East Asia analysed by blood groups and serum protein polymorphisrns

The gene frequencies were calculated to investigate genetic variation apparent in blood group and serum protein systems in Asian native pigs. The results revealed that gene frequencies were generally similar in the nine pig populations, except in some systems. Differences of gene frequencies were recognized in Hp^Y and Cp^c detected on Taoyuan pigs of Taiwan and Ohmini pigs of Japan, respectively. Tf^C and Am^C alleles were found in eight pig populations except Ohmini pigs.
The overall genetic distances were calculated by gene frequencies of 13 loci and it was observed that Taoyuan pigs are closer to Ohmini pigs than to Short-ear pigs of Taiwan and other East Asian native pigs. However, the genetic distances between Asian native pigs and European or American breeds were larger than those among East Asian native pig populations.     

Blood groups and serum protein polymorphisms in the Pitman-Moore and Ohmini strains of miniature pigs

The variations of blood groups and biochemical polymorphisms in the populations of the two miniature pig strains reared in Japan were investigated in this report. The variations in eight blood group systems were investigated by using serological techniques, and five serum protein systems by using starch gel electrophoresis. The Pitman-Moore strain showed no variations in K, O, Tf, Cp and Am systems, but showed plymorphisms in A, E, F, G, H, L, Pa and Hpx systems. The Ohmini strain showed no or little variations in E, F, G, Tf, Pa and Cp systems, but showed polymorphisms in A, H, K, L, O, Hpx and Am systems. From the results of investigation of genetic similarities among nine pig populations including various breeds, it was made clear that the two miniature pig strains were very different genetically, and the Pitman-Moore strain was genetically closer to European large pig breeds than to East Asian native pigs, while the Ohmini strain was close to Thai and Philippine natives.     

Genetic relationships among Chinese pigs and other pig populations from Hunan Province, China

In this study, protein-level polymorphisms of transferrin, pre-albumin, hemopexin, ceruloplasmin and amylase were investigated in Hunan native pigs and Large Yorkshire pigs collected from Hunan (a province of China), allowing calculations of allele frequencies, average heterozygosities, inbreeding coefficients and genetic distances. The genetic relationship between Southeast Asian native pigs and American pigs was more distant than those among Southeast Asian native pig breeds. The genetic relationship between Southeast Asian native pig breeds and Hampshire pigs was the most distant.     

21个野生,培育及地方猪种免疫及生化遗传标记基因位点的遗传分化研究

分析了亚,欧,美,非２１个野生,培育及地方猪种４个免疫遗传标记基因位点（Ｅ,Ｆ,Ｇ,Ｌ系统）和３人生化遗传标记基因位点（Ｃｐ,Ａｍ和Ｔｆ）的遗传多态性,认为Ｅ＾ａｅｇ,Ｆ＾ａ,Ｔｆ＾ｃ基因在亚洲猪种与欧美猪种间存在显著差异,是亚洲猪种３个重要的遗传标记基因,根据Ｆ＾ａ基因频率在亚,欧,美,非猪种的变化规律分析了其基因流向特点,证明欧美猪的育种过程中利用了中国地方猪种的血缘,计算了所测猪种间的Ｎｅｉ     

Genetic polymorphism of erythrocyte esterase-D in pigs

The erythrocyte esterase-D (Es-D) of four European-American pig breeds, two Taiwan native pigs (Taoyuan and Short ear breeds), Philippine native pig and wild boar populations (Sus scrofa riukiuanus) in Japan was investigated by using starch gel electrophoresis. Analysis of parentage records of the pigs revealed that the phenotypic variation of erythrocyte esterase-D was controlled by two codomi-nant alleles Es-D^A and Es-D^B. The allele Es-D^b was mostly found in three European -American pig breeds, Landrace (0.100), Hampshire (0.135) and Duroc (0.102). All of the wild boar populations were monomorphic for allele Es-D^A.     

The type I Lanyu pig has a maternal genetic lineage distinct from Asian and European pigs

The Lanyu pig is an indigenous breed from Lanyu Islet, located south-east of Taiwan, with phenotypic characteristics distinctive from other pig breeds in Asia and Europe. Based on geographic considerations, the Lanyu pig may have originated from mainland China, Austronesia or the Ryukyu Islands. In the present study, polymorphism of the mitochondrial DNA control region sequence was used to clarify phylogenetic relationships among two herds of Lanyu pigs imported before 1980 from Lanyu Islet into Taiwan and reared in isolation on two different farms. Two distinct mitochondrial control region haplotypes were found. The type I Lanyu sequence appeared independently as a unique clade different from Asian and European pig sequences, while the type II Lanyu sequence was clustered within the major Asian clade. The pairwise distances between the major Asian clade vs. the type I Lanyu and European clades were 0.01726 +/- 0.00275 and 0.01975 +/- 0.00212 changes per site respectively. Estimates of divergence time suggest that the type I Lanyu sequence split from the major Asian pig clade in prehistoric times. The type II Lanyu mtDNA shares a close genetic lineage with Japanese Satsuma and New Zealand Kune Kune mtDNA with pairwise distances of 0.00095 +/- 0.00000 and 0.00192 +/- 0.00000 respectively, indicating gene flow between Lanyu Islet, Japan and Oceania in recent times. Together these results indicate that the type I Lanyu pig has a genetic lineage separate from Asian-type pigs, while the type II Lanyu sequence may represent a more recent introgression of modern Asian pigs.     

Nonmetric tooth crown traits in the Ami tribe, Taiwan aborigines: comparisons with other east Asian populations.

The frequencies of occurrence of 17 tooth crown traits in the living Ami tribe, which inhabits the east coast of Taiwan, were investigated and compared with other East Asian populations based on Turner's (1987) Mongoloid dental variation theory. Principal coordinate analysis based on Smith's mean measure of divergence using frequencies of the 17 traits suggests that the Ami tribe together with the Yami tribe and the Bunun tribe is included in the sinodont group typical of the Chinese mainland and northeast Asia. In light of these results and the estimated distribution of sinodonty and sundadonty in the past and the present, we speculate that the gene flow from Chinese mainlanders to native sundadonts, who seem to have migrated northward to Taiwan, contributed significantly to the formation of the living Taiwan aboriginal groups, sinodonts. Among the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan, the Ami have characteristics intermediate between those of the Yami and the Bunun. The relative positions of these tribes in East Asian populations suggests that the extent of sinodontification and of genetic isolation is one of the causes of the intertribal variation.     

Patterns of genetic diversity in population complexes of pacific chum salmon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus keta</Emphasis> Walbaum,from Asia and America,inferred from allozyme polymorphism data

Based on the data of Russian and foreign researchers, a database, consisting of 100 allozyme-coding loci examined in 288 chum salmon populations from Asia and Northern America, was constructed. Using G-test, genetic heterogeneity of Asian population samples of chum salmon was evaluated. Correlations between the frequencies of major alleles and geographic latitude of the mouths of native rivers were estimated. Using the methods of Nei and Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards, for different local chum salmon stock groups the genetic distances at the number of polymorphic enzyme loci were determined. Analysis of these distances made it possible to evaluate the patterns of genetic diversity in regional population groups from the Russian Far East, Japan, and North America. The proportions of genetic variation at each hierarchical level, identified in accordance with the geographical positions of the populations, were estimated through partitioning of variation in Asian populations into within and between-population components. It was demonstrated that intraspecific genetic structure of chum salmon corresponded geographic subdivision into regional population groups.     

Investigation of serum protein systems in Chinese pigs

Polymorphisms of transferrin (Tf), pre-albumin (Pa), haemopexin (Hpx), ceruloplasmin (Cp) and amylase (Am) of Duroc pigs and Hunan indigenous pigs were investigated using horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. Allele frequencies of Durocs determined in 2004 were compared with frequencies presented in the paper by Baker L.N. (1968) Serum protein variation in Duroc and Hampshire pigs. Vox Sanguinis15, 154-8. The number of serum protein alleles decreased over time and allele frequencies aggregated across certain alleles, including TfB, PaA, Hpx3, CpB and AmB. Differences in allele frequencies, average heterozygosities and standard genetic distances between the Duroc pigs and Hunan indigenous pig populations were examined. The relationship between Durocs and Hunan indigenous pigs was found to be more distant than those among the three Hunan indigenous pig populations.     

Population structure and genetic diversity of four Henan pig populations

To investigate the population structure and genetic diversity of Henan indigenous pig breeds, samples from a total of 78 pigs of 11 breeds were collected, including four pig populations from Henan Province, three Western commercial breeds, three Chinese native pig breeds from other provinces and one Asian wild boar. The genotyping datasets were obtained by genotyping‐by‐sequencing technology. We found a high degree of polymorphism and rapid linkage disequilibrium decay in Henan pigs. A neighbor‐joining tree, principal component analysis and structure analysis revealed that the Huainan and Erhualian pigs were clustered together and that the Queshan black pigs were clearly grouped together but that the Nanyang and Yuxi pigs were extensively admixed with Western pigs. In addition, heterozygosity values might indicate that Henan indigenous pigs, especially the Queshan black and Huainan pigs, were subjected to little selection during domestication. The results presented here indicate that Henan pig breeds were admixed from Western breeds, especially Nanyang and Yuxi pigs. Therefore, establishment of purification and rejuvenation systems to implement conservation strategies is urgent. In addition, it is also necessary to accelerate genetic resources improvement and utilization using modern breeding technologies, such as genomic selection and genome‐wide association studies.     

Length variations in the COII-tRNA(Lys) intergenic region of mitochondrial DNA in Indonesian populations.

The prevalence of a 9-base-pair (bp) deletion between the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase II (MTCOX*2) and lysine tRNA (MTTK) genes (region V) has been used to estimate the genetic relationships among Asian and Pacific populations. Many East Asian and Pacific Island populations have been examined previously, but the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity of the intervening Indonesian archipelago has not previously been systematically examined. The 17,500 islands of Indonesia currently contain nearly 213 million people and extensive cultural, linguistic, and, presumably, genetic diversity. This study of 1091 individuals representing 15 ethnic groups is the most extensive mtDNA survey to date of the Indonesian archipelago. Six distinct length polymorphisms in region V were observed within these 15 populations. The 9-bp deletion was found in every population examined at frequencies comparable to those of previously examined East Asian populations and substantially lower than those in most Pacific Island populations. Despite the inclusion of Austronesian-speaking populations and a Papuan-speaking population, there was no statistically significant heterogeneity in the frequency of the 9-bp deletion among the 15 populations (p = 0.09). These data indicate that substantial gene flow occurred among the populations at some time in the past. Our observations of no significant correlations between genetic and geographic distances (r = -0.04, p = 0.53) coupled with the extensive cultural and linguistic differences currently within the archipelago suggest that little gene flow among neighboring populations has occurred recently.     

6个中国猪地方品种和3个瑞典猪DNA分子系统发育相关关系

线粒体DNA遗传多样性用于评价6个中国地方猪种和3个瑞典家猪系统发育关系。采用PCR和序列分析方法得到了来自9个品种140头猪的线粒体中控制区440bp和细胞色素b基因798bp核苷酸序列。系统发育分析结果表明：6个中国地方猪种起源于亚洲野猪。中国地方猪种和欧洲野猪的线粒体DNA核苷酸序列变异发生在413000－875000年以前,而亚洲紧猪的变异仅发生在7000－156000上以前,由于2000年以前或18世纪初中国猪种导入欧洲家猪,因此瑞典家猪既属于欧洲类也属于亚洲类。     

Ancient DNA reveals the maternal genetic history of East Asian domestic pigs

Zoo-archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that pigs were domesticated independently in Central China and Eastern Anatolia along with the development of agricultural communities and civilizations. However, the genetic history of domestic pigs, especially in China, has not been fully explored. In this study, we generate 42 complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from ～7500- to 2750-year-old individuals from the Yellow River basin. Our results show that the maternal genetic continuity of East Asian domestic pigs dates back to at least the Early to Middle Neolithic. In contrast, the Near Eastern ancestry in European domestic pigs saw a near-complete genomic replacement by the European wild boar. The majority of East Asian domestic pigs share close haplotypes, and the most recent common ancestor of most branches dates back to less than 20,000 years before present, inferred using new substitution rates of whole mitogenomes or combined protein-coding regions. Two major population expansion events of East Asian domestic pigs coincided with changes in climate, widespread adoption of introduced crops, and the development of agrarian societies. These findings add to our understanding of the maternal genetic composition and help to complete the picture of domestic pig evolutionary history in East Asia.     

Genetic diversity of autochthonous pig breeds analyzed by microsatellite markers and mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence polymorphism

The evaluation of the genetic structure of autochthonous pig breeds is very important for conservation of local pig breeds and preservation of diversity. In this study, 18 microsatellite loci were used to detect genetic relationship between autochthonous pig breeds [Black Slavonian (BS), Turopolje pig (TP), and Croatian wild boar] and to determine phylogenetic relationship among Croatian autochthonous pig breeds and certain Asian and European pigs using the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequence polymorphism. Relatively high degree of genetic variation was found between the observed populations. The analysis of mtDNA showed that haplotypes of the studied pig populations are different from the other European and Chinese haplotypes. BS pigs showed some similarities with Mangalitsa and Duroc breeds. The genetic distances of TP can be explained by high degree of inbreeding during the past century. Despite the European origin of Croatian pig breeds with some impact of Chinese breeds in the past, the results of present study show that genetic diversity is still pronounced within investigated breeds. Furthermore, the genetic diversity is even more pronounced between Croatian breeds and other European and Chinese pig breeds. Thus, conservation of Croatian pig breeds will contribute to overall genetic diversity preservation of pig breeds.     

Investigation of Genetic Relationships Among Taiwan Black Pigs and Other Pig Breeds in Taiwan Based on Microsatellite Markers

The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic relationships between Taiwan black pigs (TBP) and other pig breeds by means of 15 fluorescent-labeled microsatellite markers. DNA from a total of 299 TBP from eight private farms and 234 purebred pigs representing six breeds and one synthetic line was used. Among the 15 microsatellite loci, polymorphism information content (PIC) values were all above 0.500; the numbers of observed alleles were all greater than the numbers of effective alleles (10.1 vs. 4.3 in averages). But 13 of the 15 microsatellite markers significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE); moreover, 13 of the 15 tested populations also deviated from the HWE. The inbreeding coefficient (F_IS) indicated that two TBP populations (TBP-3 and TBP-4) had heterozygote deficiency (P < 0.01). The pair-wise F_ST, representing the genetic diversity between the two populations, ranged from 0.0332 to 0.3809. Meishan and Taoyuan breeds with black hair were previously considered closely related to TBP; however, the result of genetic relationship refuted this assumption. In conclusion, TBP is more similar to the European than Chinese breeds, and further investigations will need to clarify it more accurately.     

Genetic Diversity of Chinese Native Pigs Inferred from Protein Electrophoresis

We examined protein polymorphism of 20 nativepig breeds in China and 3 introduced pig breeds. Thirtyloci have been investigated, among which six loci werefound to be polymorphic. Especially, the polymorphismof malate dehydrogenase (MDH), adenylate kinase(AK), and two new alleles of adenosine deaminase (ADA)had not been reported in domestic pigs and wild pigs.The percentage of polymorphic loci (P), the meanheterozygosity (H), and the mean number ofalleles (A) are 0.200, 0.065, and 1.300, respectively.The degree of genetic variability of Chinese pigs as awhole was higher than that of goats, lower than thatof cattle and horses, and similar to that ofsheep. Using the gene frequencies of the 30 loci, Nei'sgenetic distance among the 20 native breeds in China and3 introduced pig breeds was calculated by theformula of Nei. The program NEIGHBOR in PHYLIP3.5c was chosen to construct an UPGMA tree and a NJtree. Our results show that, of the total geneticvariation found in the native pig breeds in China, 31%(0.31) is ascribable to genetic differencesamong breeds. About 69% of the total genetic variationis found within breeds. Most breeds are in linkagedisequilibrium. The patterns of genetic similaritiesbetween the Chinese native pig breeds were notin agreement with the proposed pig type classification.     

Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA studies on the population structure of the Christmas Island community

Christmas Island is a remote Australian territory located close to the main Indonesian island of Java. Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers were used to investigate the genetic structure of the population, which comprises communities of mixed ethnic origin. Analysis of 12 Y-chromosome biallelic polymorphisms revealed a high level of gene diversity and haplotype frequencies that were consistent with source populations in southern China and Southeast Asia. mtDNA hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) sequences displayed high levels of haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity that were comparable to various Asian populations. Genetic distances revealed extremely low mtDNA differentiation among Christmas Islanders and Asian populations. This was supported by the relatively high proportion of sequence types shared among these populations. The most common mtDNA haplogroups were M* and B, followed by D and F, which are prevalent in East/Southeast Asia. Christmas Islanders of European descent were characterized by the Eurasian haplogroup R*, and a limited degree of admixture was observed. In general, analysis of the genetic data indicated population affinities to southern Chinese (in particular from the Yunnan Province) and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia), which was consistent with historical records of settlement. The combined use of these different marker systems provides a useful and appropriate model for the study of contemporary populations derived from different ethnic origins.     

The phylogeny of Chinese indigenous pig breeds inferred from microsatellite markers

A genetic study of 32 local Chinese, three foreign pig breeds [Duroc (DU), Landrace and Yorkshire], and two types of wild boar (Hainan and Dongbei wild boar) based on 34 microsatellite loci was carried out to clarify the phylogeny of Chinese indigenous pig breeds. The allele frequencies, effective numbers of alleles, and the average heterozygosity within populations were calculated. The results showed that the genetic variability of the Lingao pig was the largest, while the Jiaxing pig was the lowest. The greatest distance between domestic pigs was found between Shanggao and DU pig and the shortest was found between Wuzhishan and Lingao pig, respectively. A neighbour-joining tree constructed from Modified Cavalli-Sforza genetic distances divided Chinese pigs into two clusters; four subclusters were also identified. Our results only partly agree with the traditional types of classification and also provide a new relationship among Chinese local pig breeds. Our data also confirmed that Chinese pig breeds have a different origin from European/American breeds and can be utilized in programmes that aim to maintain Chinese indigenous pig breeds.     

Mitochondrial COI and 16sRNA Evidence for a Single Species Hypothesis of E. vitis,J. formosana and E. onukii in East Asia

Tea green leafhopper is one of the most damaging tea pests in main tea production regions of East Asia. For lack of recognized morphological characters, the dominant species of tea green leafhoppers in Mainland China, Taiwan and Japan have always been named as Empoasca vitis Göthe, Jacobiasca formosana Paoli and Empoasca onukii MATSUDA, respectively. Furthermore, nothing is known about the genetic relationships among them. In this study, we collected six populations from Mainland China, four populations from Japan and one population from Taiwan, and examined the genetic distances in the COI and 16sRNA regions of mtDNA among them. The results showed that the genetic distances based on single gene or the combined sequences among eleven leafhopper populations were 0.3–1.2%, which were all less than the species boundary of 2%. Moreover, there were at least two haplotypes shared by two distinct populations from different regions. The phylogenetic analysis based on single gene or combined sets also supported that tea green leafhoppers from Mainland China, Taiwan and Japan were closely related to each other, and there were at least two specimens from different regions clustered ahead of those from the same region. Therefore, we propose that the view of recognizing the dominant species of tea green leafhoppers in three adjacent tea production regions of East Asia as different species is unreliable or questionable and suggest that they are a single species.     

Population differentiation and gene flow revealed by microsatellite DNA markers in the house mouse (Mus musculus castaneus) in Taiwan

We analyzed population subdivision and gene flow of the Southeast Asian house mouse (Mus musculus castaneus) in Taiwan by using six microsatellite DNA markers. Seven populations of the house mouse (187 individuals), including one from Fukien Province in southeastern China, which is separated from Taiwan by the Taiwan Strait, were analyzed in this study. The overall polymorphic level at the six loci was high (He = 0.76) although individual populations varied in their levels of heterozygosity (He = 0.35-0.83). For the populations within Taiwan, there was no evidence of isolation by distance and the level of gene flow was not (inversely) correlated to geographic distances. Gene flow was estimated to be higher across the Taiwan Strait than within the island of Taiwan. These observations of gene flow cannot be understood unless in the context of the historical human settlements and agricultural expansion, and the commensal habits of the species. We also discussed the causes of population subdivision and genetic variation among populations in terms of ecological characteristics of the house mouse in Taiwan.