Microsatellite-Based Genetic Differentiation and Phylogeny of Sheep Breeds in Mongolia Sheep Group of China

In the present study we studied the genetic structure of five Chinese sheep populations of Hu sheep, Tong sheep, Small-tailed Han sheep, Tan sheep, and Wadi (WD) sheep using 15 microsatellite loci. The results showed that the FIT, FST, and FIS statistics computed for the complete dataset had the following values, 0.523±0.140, 0.363±0.131 and 0.263±0.092, respectively. All loci were significantly contributed to the genetic differentiation among population (P<0.001). There is no relationship between the scatter of pairwise FST geographical distance points as geographical distance increases between the five populations. Membership probabilities and genetic structure of sheep populations were estimated when K=2, the populations were classified into Hu, Tong, Han and WD, and Tan sheep group. However, when K=3, the populations were classified into Hu and Tong, Han and WD, and Tan sheep group. The findings supported the previous literatures that these populations are originated on different time stages from the primogenitor population and communicated genetically with each other by natural and artificial selection in different ecological environment.