| dc.description.abstract | Background: The European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) boasts a population of
almost 13,000 in Hungary and holds significant value in game management due
to its game meat and horn trophies. Since there is no data on genetic investiga-
tions of the mouflons in this region, the authors initiated this survey to test the
usability of various markers.
Objectives: The authors aim to evaluate cross-specific (Cevidae) tetranucleotide
microsatellite markers capable of monitoring diversity and individual identifica-
tion. Additionally, they plan to assess maternal lineage diversity based on the
mitochondrial control region sequence.
Materials and Methods: In this preliminary study, the authors examined ten
mouflon individuals from the Pilis mountain region. The tested 80 tetranucleotide
microsatellites originating from the suborder Ruminantia. Published PCR protocols
were available for all markers in the original species, which were adapted and opti-
mized for mouflon samples. Subsequently, these PCR fragments were analyzed
by capillary electrophoresis, and polymorphic markers were identified. Regarding
the mitochondrial marker, the sequence of almost the entire control region was
determined using the Sanger method using primers previously described in sheep.
Results and Discussion: Only 20 microsatellite markers provided PCR products
of sufficient quality and quantity, resulting in the detection of three polymor-
phic markers with two alleles each. Regarding the mitochondrial control region,
only one haplotype was identified. Our pilot study demonstrates the feasibility
of cross-species markers and their primers in mouflon. Consistent with other
international research on the species, our results suggest a potential low genetic
variation in the Hungarian population, likely due to a genetic bottleneck, founder
effect, and inbreeding. Given the limited number of polymorphic markers and
allele polymorphism, the current set should be supplemented with more poly-
morphic markers from closely related species, and testing of mouflon samples
from different regions is important. | en_US |
