Environmental Factors Affecting Genetic Variation in Coarse-Wool Sheep

Economic activities of the population living in the rural areas of the world is 70% dependent on traditional livestock production systems based on indigenous breeds. Consequently, it is very important to protect and preserve the heritage breeds of animals resistant to any diseases and better adapted to the changing environmental conditions. The effects of the natural environmental factors on the formation of the genetic structure in 24 coarse-wool breeds of sheep reared in nine countries of Europe and Asia have been studied. Genetic surveys of 20 microsatellite loci were carried out. The most significant environmental factors causing the genetic variation in the analyzed sheep breeds turned out to be the geographical latitude and the annual mean temperature. The genetic variation in the coarse-wool sheep breeds was generally higher at low geographical latitudes, which corresponds to the data obtained for the other animal species. Therefore, the protection of animal populations inhabiting the areas at the low geographical latitudes can contribute to a higher intraspecific diversity than the protection of the same number of populations distributed in the high latitude ranges. This fact should be especially considered when planning the programs to preserve the biodiversity of animals since the breeds of sheep reared near the centers of animal domestication have a higher genetic variation. Hence, they can serve as the source of genes contributing to adaptation under the conditions of global climate change.