Comparative genetic diversity in a sample of pony breeds from the U.K. and North America: a case study in the conservation of global genetic resources.

Winton, Clare L.; Plante, Yves; Hind, Pamela; McMahon, Robert; Hegarty, Matthew J.; McEwan, Neil R.; Davies-Morel, Mina C.G.; Morgan, Charly M.; Powell, Wayne; Nash, Deborah M.

doi:10.1002/ece3.1562

Comparative genetic diversity in a sample of pony breeds from the U.K. and North America: a case study in the conservation of global genetic resources.

Winton, Clare L.; Plante, Yves; Hind, Pamela; McMahon, Robert; Hegarty, Matthew J.; McEwan, Neil R.; Davies-Morel, Mina C.G.; Morgan, Charly M.; Powell, Wayne; Nash, Deborah M.

Authors

Clare L. Winton

Yves Plante

Pamela Hind

Robert McMahon

Matthew J. Hegarty

Neil R. McEwan

Mina C.G. Davies-Morel

Charly M. Morgan

Wayne Powell

Deborah M. Nash

Abstract

Most species exist as subdivided ex situ daughter population(s) derived from a single original group of individuals. Such subdivision occurs for many reasons both natural and manmade. Traditional British and Irish pony breeds were introduced to North America (USA and Canada) within the last 150 years and subsequently equivalent breed societies were established. We have analysed selected UK and North American equivalent pony populations as a case study for understanding the relationship between putative source and derived sub-populations. Diversity was measured using mitochondrial DNA and a panel of microsatellite markers. Genetic signatures differed between the North American sub-populations according to historical management processes. Founder effect and stochastic drift was apparent, particularly pronounced in some breeds, with evidence of admixture of imported mares of different North American breeds.

Citation

WINTON, C.L., PLANTE, Y., HIND, P., MCMAHON, R., HEGARTY, M.J., MCEWAN, N.R., DAVIES-MOREL, M.C.G., MORGAN, C.M., POWELL, W. and NASH, D.M. 2015. Comparative genetic diversity in a sample of pony breeds from the U.K. and North America: a case study in the conservation of global genetic resources. Ecology and evolution [online], 5(16), pages 3507-3522. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1562

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 18, 2015
Online Publication Date	Jul 31, 2015
Publication Date	Aug 31, 2015
Deposit Date	Aug 21, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Aug 21, 2015
Journal	Ecology and evolution
Electronic ISSN	2045-7758
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	5
Issue	16
Pages	3507-3522
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1562
Keywords	Phylogenetics; Founder effect; Horse; Microsatellite; mtDNA; Conservation; Evolution
Public URL	http://hdl.handle.net/10059/3061