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Genetic diversity and population structure of M ongolian domestic B actrian camels ( Camelus bactrianus )
Author(s) -
Chuluunbat B.,
Charruau P.,
Silbermayr K.,
Khorloojav T.,
Burger P. A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/age.12158
Subject(s) - biology , genetic diversity , livestock , inbreeding , context (archaeology) , population , animal husbandry , effective population size , zoology , domestication , ecology , demography , agriculture , sociology , paleontology
Summary The tradition of animal husbandry in the context of a nomadic lifestyle has been of great significance in the Mongolian society. Both B actrian camels and horses have been invaluable for the survival and development of human activities in the harsh arid environment of the Mongolian steppe. As camels offer unique and sustainable opportunities for livestock production in marginal agro‐ecological zones, we investigated the current genetic diversity of three local Mongolian camel breeds and compared their levels of variation with common native Mongolian camels distributed throughout the country. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers, we found levels of genetic diversity in Mongolian populations similar to that reported for C hinese Bactrian camels and for dromedaries. Little differentiation was detected between single breeds, except for a small group originating from the northwestern M ongolian A ltai. We found neither high inbreeding levels in the different breeds nor evidence for a population decline. Although the M ongolian camel census size has severely declined over the past 20 years, our analyses suggest that there still exists a stable population with adequate genetic variation for continued sustainable utilization.