Historical Westward Migration Phases of Ovis aries Inferred from the Population Structure and the Phylogeography of Occidental Mediterranean Native Sheep Breeds

In this study, the genetic relationship and the population structure of western Mediterranean basin native sheep breeds are investigated, analyzing Maghrebian, Central Italian, and Venetian sheep with a highly informative microsatellite markers panel. The phylogeographical analysis, between breeds' differentiation level (Wright's fixation index), gene flow, ancestral relatedness measured by molecular coancestry, genetic distances, divergence times estimates and structure analyses, were revealed based on the assessment of 975 genotyped animals. The results unveiled the past introduction and migration history of sheep in the occidental Mediterranean basin since the early Neolithic. Our findings provided a scenario of three westward sheep migration phases fitting properly to the westward Neolithic expansion argued by zooarcheological, historical and human genetic studies.

Automated summary

This study investigates the genetic relationship and population structure of native sheep breeds in the western Mediterranean basin, analyzing Maghrebian, Central Italian, and Venetian sheep using highly informative microsatellite markers. The results reveal the past introduction and migration history of sheep in the occidental Mediterranean basin since the early Neolithic, fitting properly to the westward Neolithic expansion argued by zooarcheological, historical, and human genetic studies.