Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, cilt.49, sa.3, ss.125-137, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Animal genetic resources are recognized as an indispensable component of humanity’s natural heritage and are essential for ensuring environmental sustainability for future generations. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure, and presence of genetic bottlenecks in three indigenous Turkish sheep breeds: Dağlıç, Karagül, and Sakız, all of which are conserved as genetic resources in Türkiye. Genomic DNA was extracted from 140 blood samples using the salt precipitation technique. These samples were collected from the Sakız (n = 53), Dağlıç (n = 58), and Karagül (n = 29) breeds, which were reared on 13 farms located in the provinces of İzmir, Afyon, and Tokat. Genotyping of the DNA samples was performed using 17 microsatellite markers, resulting in the identification of 345 different alleles. The highest number of alleles observed for a single locus was 28, while the average effective allele number and polymorphic information content were 18.32 and 0.94, respectively. The calculated GST value indicated that a substantial 98.70% of the observed genetic variance resided within individuals. Breed-specific FIS values were determined as 0.132 for Sakız, 0.120 for Dağlıç, and 0.089 for Karagül. Analysis using STRUCTURE identified three ancestral populations contributing to the genetic composition of the sampled animals, with evidence of admixture across all populations. Utilizing three distinct mutation models within the Bottleneck program, bottleneck analysis revealed that the Sakız and Dağlıç breeds have largely maintained their recent effective population size, as supported by Wilcoxon tests and mode-shift plots. However, the Karagül breed exhibited evidence suggestive of a recent bottleneck (p < 0.05). Despite this indication, the overall genetic diversity within the studied breeds appeared to be relatively well-preserved. Given the limited size of the Karagül population, careful management of breeding strategies is essential to safeguard its existing genetic pool.