Genetic relationships and admixture among sheep breeds from Northern Spain assessed using microsatellites

Although many research papers have studied diversity and differentiation within livestock species, genetic relationships among neighboring populations remain poorly understood. Here we apply recent methodologies to analyze the polymorphism of 14 microsatellites in 238 unrelated individuals belonging to six sheep breeds from Northern Spain to ascertain their historical relationships and the relative genetic contributions existing between populations. Individual genotypes were analyzed to assess the existence of an underlying genetic structure. Long-term and recent migration rates were estimated to identify patterns of relative genetic contribution among breeds. The complete data set showed a strong population structure derived from both different ancestral origins and some geographical patterns of recent gene flow. Two of the analyzed breeds (Black-faced Latxa and Churra) had a marked genetic background, supporting the hypothesis that, regardless of their phenotypical similarities, they have different ancestral origins. Some of the more presumably related breeds had negative long-term admixture coefficients, showing that they diverged only recently. In addition, we show how methodologies for estimation of long-term gene flow and recent patterns of migration are complementary, providing information about migration rates on different timescales.