2012 Volume 2012 Issue 49 Pages 1-9
Clustering analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were conducted to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among fi ve local sheep breeds (Wadi, Hu, Tong, Tan and Bayanbulak) on the basis of allele frequency data at fi ve loci (TF, ES, HB-β, XP and KE) encoding for the blood protein and non-protein systems and one locus (B2CHSWP) controlling the wool protein gene system. Other sheep breeds (Khalkha of Mongolia and Bhyanglung of Nepal) were included in the study for comparison. Diff erent electrophoretic, ion-densitometric and PCR-RFLP techniques were used to identify the polymorphisms of their systems. Using clustering analysis by the UPGMA method, two diff erent clusters consisting of the Wadi and Khalkha and the Hu and Bayanbulak were formed. Using the NJ method, similar relationships to the results obtained by the previous method were seen. Tan sheep correlated with these two cluster groups, following by correlation with the Tong sheep. From those results, both groups of the fat-tailed sheep of the Wadi, Tong and Tan and the fat-rumped sheep of the Bayanbulak and Hu were regarded as being the same and/or similar genetic tribe. The Bhyanglung sheep from Tibet markedly di- verged from the great group. This tendency resembled the results obtained by PCA. However, no clear phylogenetic distribution was found within the Chinese and Mongolian breed group ex- cept for the Tong by the PCA. The relative magnitude of such a genetic diff erentiation among the Chinese-Mongolian fat-tailed group, fat-rumped group and Tibetan short tailed group was estimated to be only 9.4%. Moreover, though the magnitude of differentiation between the Chinese-Mongolian fat-tailed group and fat-rumped group was lower, the diff erentiation in the combined group and the Tibetan short tailed group was 13%.
