Validation of a molecular screening tool for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities in donkey

JESUS DORADO; SEBASTIÁN DEMYDA-PEYRÁS; JULIA POYATO BONILLA; GABRIEL ANAYA

Dubrovnik

Conferencia; 69th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science; 2018

European Federation of Animal Science

Chromosomal abnormalities are one of the main causes of infertility and reproductive problems in horses. Nowadays, the detection of individuals showing this type of aberrations is rising due to the use of new diagnostic tools based on molecular markers located along the autosomal and sexual chromosomes. In contrast, despite its great similarities with the horse, there is only one recent report of sterility associated with chromosomal abnormalities in the domestic donkey (Equus asinus), a scarcely studied species in spite of its importance for the human being and the endangered status of certain breeds. In the present study, we analysed the possibility of applying an STR (Single-Tandem-Repeat)-based molecular method developed for horses as a diagnostic tool for these abnormalities in donkeys. The frequencies of five X-linked (LEX003, LEX026, TKY38, TKY270 and UCEDQ502) molecular markers and one Y-linked gene (Sex-Determining Region Y, SRY) were determined in 121 donkeys of two different Spanish breeds (Andaluza and Encartaciones) and 58 donkeys from north Africa (Moruna). Taking as reference the analysed population, sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic tool were determined based on expected profiles of chromosomal abnormalities and results of heterozygosity of the molecular markers used. The molecular panel showed 100% sensitivity and 98.78% specificity. Hence, its use complementarily with other cytogenetic techniques constitutes a highly specific, rapid and low cost detection tool for chromosomal abnormalities and their characterization in domestic donkey.