Levels and Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Domestic Rabbits.

ABSTRACT: Over thousands of years humans changed the genetic and phenotypic composition of several organisms and in the process transformed wild species into domesticated forms. From this close association, domestic animals emerged as important models in biomedical and fundamental research, in addition to their intrinsic economical and cultural value. The domestic rabbit is no exception but few studies have investigated the impact of domestication on its genetic variability. In order to study patterns of genetic structure in domestic rabbits and to quantify the genetic diversity lost with the domestication process, we genotyped 45 microsatellites for 471 individuals belonging to 16 breeds and 13 wild localities. We found that both the initial domestication and the subsequent process of breed formati

SUBMITTER: Alves JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4686922 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature