Genetic relationships of the Cuban hair sheep inferred from microsatellite polymorphism

The aim of this research was to assess: (a) the genetic relationships between the Cuban Pelibuey and both the Hair-Mexican and Hair-Canarian sheep populations; and (b) the influence of African hair sheep in the formation of the Cuban Pelibuey breed. A total of 146 individuals of Cuban Pelibuey hair sheep breed were sampled and genotyped for 26 microsatellites together with 26 Hair-Mexican and 24 Hair-Canarian individuals. Additionally, the same microsatellites set was typed on 110 West African hair sheep and on 41 individuals belonging to the Wooled-Canarian (23) and the Wooled-Palmera (18) sheep breeds to be used as outgroup. Genetic distance, correspondence and STRUCTURE analyses pointed out that the Cuban Pelibuey has a particular genetic background. This population has relatively high levels of gene diversity (0.685 ± 0.006) and rarefacted allelic richness (5.9). No signals of genetic bottleneck in the Cuban Pelibuey sheep were detected. The Hair-Canarian and the Hair-Mexican populations are closely related. This is likely to be due to a major role of the Cuban Pelibuey sheep in their formation. The influence of African hair sheep into the Cuban Pelibuey could be limited and recent in historical terms.