| Institution: | 1. Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani Road, Lahore, 54000 Pakistan
Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW, 2570 Australia;2. Invermay Agricultural Centre, AgResearch, 176 Puddle Alley, Mosgiel, 9092 New Zealand;3. Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani Road, Lahore, 54000 Pakistan;4. Faculty of Science, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, 425 Werombi Road, Camden, NSW, 2570 Australia |
| Abstract: | Pakistani camels have been classified socio-geographically into 20 breeds, but they have not yet been subjected to substantial selective pressures and the genetic basis for these breeds is not understood. However, it should be possible to distinguish them by use of molecular data. This study investigated the genetic diversity and population structure within and between two major Pakistani camel breeds, Marecha and Lassi. As no SNP array is currently available, we first identified 63 619 SNPs using a genotyping by sequencing approach. After quality control, a panel of 36 926 SNPs was used in the analysis. Population structure was investigated with a principal coordinate analysis as well as a cluster analysis using NetView , and multilocus heterozygosity analysis to explore between- and within-breed genetic variation. In addition, between-breed variation was explored using the fixation index, FST. We also compared relationship matrices computed using the VanRaden SNP-based method and a method developed specifically for genotyping by sequencing data. Among the two camel breeds, Lassi showed a lower level of genetic diversity whereas Marecha showed a higher level. As a genotyping platform has not yet been developed for the camel, the SNPs discovered in this study will be useful in future genetic studies in camels. |
