Genetic characterisation of Krivovirska Pramenka sheep

One of strategic goals in the field of improving our sheep breeding is to preserve sheep genofund. An important aspect in that context is genetic characterisation of our locally adapted breeds. The present research was conducted in summer season on 30 Krivovirska Pramenka sheep aged about 3 years on average and raised in 3 different localities. The blood of these animals was taken by venepuncture of v.jugularis into 5 mltest-tubes that were properly marked and samples stored at 4?C in a refrigerator and transported to a laboratory.Isolation of total genomic DNA was performed by a commercial kit for the isolation of DNA from blood for which 100 ml blood per animal was used. For genotyping a set of 12 nucleus microsatellites recommended by the International Society for Animal Genetics -ISAG was used. Molecular data obtained by amplifying nucleus microsatellites were processed by means of following standard bioinformatics packages: GenAlEx 6.5 (Peakall and Smouse 2012), HP-Rare 1.0 (Kalinowski 2005), Coancestry v.1.0.1.9 (Wang 2011) and STRUCTURE 2.3.4. (Pritchard et al. 2000). On the basis of the research conducted a relatively high level of genetic diversity was determined in studied population as well as a small number of animal pairs whose level of relatedness was higher than expected one. At the same time, a low and positive inbreeding coefficient not statistically significant was detected what indicates that examined population of Krivovirska Pramenka sheep is not burdened by inbreeding. The results obtained are informative and with an application of additional markers can serve for obtaining the guideliness for preserving and sustainable breeding of Krivovirska Pramenka sheep in Serbia.