Study of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of the Yak (Bos grunniens) in the Sayan-Altai Region

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The paper reports the first study of genetic diversity of the domestic yak in the Sayan-Altai region of Russia (Altai and Tuva) and Mongolia (Khuvsgul and Gobi) on the basis of the polymorphism analysis of the mtDNA D-loop hypervariable region. It has been demonstrated that, among all the studied populations, Tuva yaks are characterized by the highest haplotype diversity. Four new haplotypes, A4, A13, D9, and E3, have been described for the first time. The analysis of the contribution of maternal genetic component to the yak intrabreed and interbreed mtDNA diversity revealed two large clades. For the first time, comparative analysis of genetic structure of the Russian yak populations was carried out using 15 microsatellite loci. Low genetic difference between the populations was revealed, which may apparently be accounted for by the specific features of farm breeding, in particular, by animal exchange between the adjacent territories of the Sayan-Altai region.