Origin of Cuban Creole cattle inferred by patri- and matrilineages

LIRON J.P.; ACOSTA A.; ROGBERG MUNOZ A.; UFFO O.; POSIK D.M.; GARCIA J.; PERAL GARCIA P.; GIOVAMBATTISTA G.

ARCHIVOS DE ZOOTECNIA

Universidad de Córdoba. España

Año: 2010

0004-0592

Cattle were absent from America before the discovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492. Initially, bovine were brought to Greater Antilles (La Española, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba islands), and in the course of a few years, they were taken from Caribbean islands to the rest of Latin America. Nowadays, Cuban Creole cattle population is about 1300 heads, mainly located in the eastern region of the island. With the aim of analyzing mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y chromosome  diversities in Cuban Creole cattle investigate the maternal origins and possible contemporaneous male mediated gene flow, 36 dams and 21 sires were genotyped for mitochondrial D-loop (nucleotide positions 16023–16262) and five Y chromosome microsatellites, respectively. Genetic diversity was evaluated through number of haplotypes, mean number of pairwise differences and nucleotide diversity. The phylogenetic analysis was performed using a median joining. A total of 15 mtDNA haplotypes were detected in the studied population (10 from the European haplogroup T3, 3 from the African T1, 1 from the Nearern East T2, and 1 ambiguous T1-T3). The number of polymorphic sites, the mean nucleotide diversity and the mean number of pairwise differences were 23, 0.014 and 3.36, respectively. Two patrilinages were detected, both belonging to the Y3 Zebu haplogroup. In conclusion, Cuban Creole cattle population had a mtDNA haplotypic composition similar to the observed in Creole and Mediterranean breeds, what is in concordance with the historical origin of this breed. Y chromosome analysis evidenced a male mediated process of zebu introgression.