Genealogical relationship between pedigree and microsatellite information and analysis of genetic structure of a highly inbred Japanese black cattle strain

Japanese Black cattle of Hyogo prefecture (Tajima strain) are famous for its ability to produce high-quality meat and have been maintained as a closed system for more than 80 years. In order to assess the usefulness of microsatellite markers in closed cattle populations, and evaluate the genetic structure of the Tajima strain, we analyzed representative dams of the Tajima strain comprised of the substrains Nakadoi and Kinosaki. Genetic variability analyses indicated-low genetic diversity in the Tajima strain. In addition, a recent genetic bottleneck, which could be accounted for by the high level of inbreeding, was detected in both substrains. In phylogenetic analyses, relationship coefficients and genetic distances between individuals were calculated using pedigree and microsatellite information. Two phylogenetic trees were constructed from microsatellite and pedigree information using the UPGMA method. Both trees illustrated that most individuals were distinguished clearly on the basis of the two substrains, although in the microsatellite tree some individuals appeared in clusters of different substrains. Comparing the two phylogenetic trees revealed good consistency between the microsatellite analysis tree and the pedigree information. The correlation coefficient between genetic distances derived from microsatellite and pedigree information was 0.686 with a high significance level (p<0.001). These results indicated that microsatellite information may provide data substantially equivalent to pedigree information even in unusually inbred herds of cattle, and suggested that microsatellite markers may be useful in revealing genetic structure without accurate or complete pedigree information.