Genome-wide DNA arrays profiling unravels the genetic structure of Iranian sheep and pattern of admixture with worldwide coarse-wool sheep breeds

Archaeological and genetic evidence show that sheep were originally domesticated in area around the North of Zagros mountains, North-west of Iran. The Persian plateau exhibits a variety of native sheep breeds with a common characteristic of coarse-wool production. Therefore, knowledge about the genetic structure and diversity of Iranian sheep and genetic connections with other sheep breeds is of great interest. To this end, we genotyped 154 samples from 11 sheep breeds distributed across Iran with the Ovine Infinium HD SNP 600 K BeadChip array, and analyzed this dataset combined with the retrieved data of 558 samples from 19 worldwide coarse-wool sheep breeds. The average genetic diversity ranged from 0.315 to 0.354, while the FST values ranged from 0.016 to 0.177 indicating a low differentiation of Iranian sheep. Analysis of molecular variance showed that 90.21 and 9.79% of the source of variation were related to differences within and between populations, respectively. Our results indicated that the coarse-wool sheep from Europe were clearly different from those of the Asia. Accordingly, the Asiatic mouflon was positioned between Asian and European countries. In addition, we found that the genetic background of Iranian sheep is present in sheep from China and Kyrgyzstan, as well as India. The revealed admixture patterns of the Iranian sheep and other coarse-wool sheep breeds probably resulted from the expansion of nomads and through the Silk Road trade network.

Automated summary

Sheep were originally domesticated in the northwest of Iran, where a variety of native sheep breeds with coarse wool characteristics can be found. Iranian sheep exhibit high genetic diversity with low differentiation between populations, and show genetic connections with sheep breeds from other regions.