Genetic Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Domestic Animals and Wild Animal

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2025) | Viewed by 3074

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: animals; biodiversity; genetics; phylogeny
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: purification, biochemical analysis and production of native and recombinant proteins; molecular diagnostics of population and species structure; bioinformatic sequences database analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: molecular biology and molecular taxonomy; bioinformatic sequences database analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We do not know what kind of breeds will be necessary "tomorrow", how productive they will be, what foods will be needed by future humans, nor what society and ordinary people will require of us. Some thoughts, hinting that we must abandon endlessly increasing animal productivity and instead focus more on the quality of the animal products themselves, have already been sneaked through.

One of the most important problems, and today one of the most relevant, relates to the preservation of local, well-adapted animal breeds. Local breeds usually exhibit low productivity, but they are an important factor in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem in the environments they inhabit. They have a hearty constitution, superior resistance to diseases, greater adaptability to unfavorable growing conditions, are longer-lived, and possess a number of other valuable qualities. The conservation of genetic resources is necessary to maintaining genetic variability and plasticity when environmental, nutritional, and economic conditions change.

On the other hand, greater attention should also be paid to wild animal species, some of which are on the brink of extinction. The damage or destruction of natural habitats, pollution, overhunting, the modification of the climate, and dozens of other factors threaten the existence of wild animal species.

Genomic technologies are increasingly applied in ex situ and in situ population management and genomic screening is needed to identify the most suitable individuals for breeding, translocation and "genetic rescue" programs, and to avoid increasing the genetic load on the target population. In addition, knowledge gleaned from genomic techniques helps us to compare contemporary populations, as well as enabling more detailed temporal comparisons and assessment of the relationship between the scale of change of populations and time.

Dr. Peter Hristov
Dr. Georgi Radoslavov
Dr. Boiko Neov
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • genetic diversity
  • climate change
  • local animal breeds
  • wild animal species
  • sustainable ecosystem
  • preservation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2622 KiB  
Article
Genetic Variability and Population Structure of Camelus from Kazakhstan Inferred from 17 STR Markers
by Gulfairuz Shaltenbay, Daniya Ualiyeva, Tilek Kapassuly, Altynay Kozhakhmet, Zarina Orazymbetova, Temirlan Kulboldin, Kanagat Yergali, Makpal Amandykova, Bakhytzhan Bekmanov and Kairat Dossybayev
Diversity 2025, 17(7), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17070459 - 28 Jun 2025
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Abstract
Camels have been essential to human survival and development across the arid Central Asian steppes, particularly in Kazakhstan, where the breeding of one-humped and two-humped camels is a longstanding tradition supporting the nomadic lifestyle. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and [...] Read more.
Camels have been essential to human survival and development across the arid Central Asian steppes, particularly in Kazakhstan, where the breeding of one-humped and two-humped camels is a longstanding tradition supporting the nomadic lifestyle. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of these camels across their distribution range in Kazakhstan. Blood samples from 100 individuals were collected from five locations, Almaty (ALA), Atyrau (ATR), Shymkent (SHK), Kyzylorda (KZL), and Taraz (TRZ), and genotyped using 17 microsatellite markers. All loci were polymorphic, with a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.707 in C. dromedarius and 0.643 in C. bactrianus. The highest expected heterozygosity (He = 0.939) was observed at VOLP67 in C. bactrianus and at VOLP03 in C. dromedarius. Genetic differentiation was low (FST = 0.021), indicating a weak population structure between the two species with substantial gene flow (Nm = 19.972). The hybrid analysis identified 31% hybrids, including F1, F2, and backcrosses, with the highest frequencies in KZL and TRZ, moderate frequencies in ATR, and lowest frequencies in SHK and ALA. These patterns, consistent with STRUCTURE clustering, reflect widespread but regionally variable hybridization. The phylogenetic analysis revealed three clades, separating Bactrian camels (ALA), dromedaries (SHK), and a hybrid group (ATR, KZL, and TRZ). These findings enhance our understanding of the genetic diversity of Kazakhstan’s camels and support effective conservation, breeding strategies, and genotyping applications in camel husbandry. Full article
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15 pages, 2582 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure among Arabian Horse Genealogical Lineages in Bulgaria
by Peter Hristov, Georgi Radoslavov, Ivan Mehandjyiski, Delka Salkova and Georgi Yordanov
Diversity 2024, 16(5), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16050281 - 9 May 2024
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Abstract
The present research aimed to characterize the genetic diversity and relationships among extant Arabian horse sire lines in Bulgaria, using 15 equine microsatellite markers. The evaluation included 537 Arabian horses representing nine sire lines (SAKLAWI I, LATIF, SEANDERICH, IBRAHIM, SHABAB, DJEBEL MOUSA, KUHAILAN [...] Read more.
The present research aimed to characterize the genetic diversity and relationships among extant Arabian horse sire lines in Bulgaria, using 15 equine microsatellite markers. The evaluation included 537 Arabian horses representing nine sire lines (SAKLAWI I, LATIF, SEANDERICH, IBRAHIM, SHABAB, DJEBEL MOUSA, KUHAILAN AFAS, BAIRACTAR, and SARHAN). The obtained results indicated that within these lines, the mean number of alleles ranged from 4.15 in SARHAN to 5.54 in SAKLAWI I and LATIF. The mean expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.54 in the SEANDERICH line to 0.67 in SAKLAWI I. The inbreeding coefficient for the entire Arabian populations was rather low: FIS = −0.109, fluctuating from −0.204 in SHABAB to −0.041 in SAKLAWI I. The mean genetic differentiation, FST, was 0.096, demonstrating that nearly 90% of the total genetic variation was due to genetic differentiation within each population. STRUCTURE analysis indicated a genetic similarity between SHABAB and LATIF, between IBRAHIM and KUHAILAN AFAS, as well as between SAKLAWI I, SEANDERICH, and BAIRACTAR. This study of the genetic diversity of Arabian sire lines in Bulgaria can assist in developing a national strategy for the exclusion of non-purebred animals from breeding programs in order to preserve the genetic profile of the original Arabian lines. Full article
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