Population genetics and paternity in Rasa Aragonesa sheep using DNA fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting was used to study the population genetics and paternity of the Rasa Aragonesa sheep (Ovis aries). Using a combination of Hae III and the M13 derived probe pV47, the mean number of bands per individual (5.422 +/- 0.309), the background band sharing coefficient (0.347), the mean population frequency of alleles (0.192) and the mean heterozygosity for bands (0.893) were calculated for 45 individuals from eight different farms in Aragon, northern Spain. Therefore, the estimated probability of missing a wrong paternity was 0.126 for unrelated males, and this probability was 0.438 for full-sibs males. In addition, in a field trial of this technique, paternity was assigned for three ewe-lamb pairs with a probability of 97 per cent in two cases and 77 per cent in one case.