Assessment of Genetic Relationship between Six Populations of Welsh Mountain Sheep using Microsatellite Markers

This study investigated the genetic relationship between 6 populations of Welsh Mountain sheep: 5 phenotypic breed-types within the Welsh Mountain (WM) sheep breed, which have each been bred in spe - cific geographic areas of Wales, and the Black Welsh Mountain sheep breed. Based on DNA analysis using 8 microsatellite markers, observed heterozygosity levels were similar to those expected in livestock populations subjected to selective breeding (0.530-0.664), and all but one population showed evidence of inbreeding. Using Bayesian cluster and Neighbor-joining analyses, the Black Welsh Mountain sheep were identified as being the outlier group, and the remaining groups could be categorized into five distinct sub-populations, which reflects the geographical separation seen between these populations.