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MBE Advance Access published online on May 3, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution, doi:10.1093/molbev/msl007
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted April 27, 2006

Research Article

Genetic Signatures of a Mediterranean Influence in Iberian Peninsula Sheep Husbandry

Filipe Pereira 1 *, Simon J.M. Davis 2, Luísa Pereira 3, Brian McEvoy 4, Daniel G. Bradley 4, and António Amorim 1

1 Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Pr. Gomes Teixeira, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
2 Instituto Português de Arqueologia, Avenida da Índia 136, 1300-300 Lisboa, Portugal
3 Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto (IPATIMUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
4 Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Filipe Pereira, E-mail: fpereira{at}ipatimup.pt


  Abstract

Highly adaptable and versatile populations of domestic sheep, the result of millennia of intense husbandry, are found in almost every corner of the world. Here we describe a genetic survey of sheep from the western fringe of its European distribution. We studied the mitochondrial DNA control region sequences from 161 individuals belonging to seven Portuguese sheep breeds. Our study revealed a high level of genetic diversity, with an average breed haplotype diversity of 0.983, substantially above that observed in central European breeds, as well as the presence of maternal lineages until now only found in the Middle East and Asia. A broad North-South pattern describes the most important trend in the Portuguese sheep population with a southern population clearly distinct from most other breeds. A recurrent influx of new genetic diversity, probably via the Mediterranean Sea, may explain these patterns and appears to corroborate the importance of this maritime route in the history of both mankind and livestock. Zoo-archaeological studies of sheep bones from southern Portugal indicate a marked size increase during the Moslem period which may reflect an improvement of this animal - perhaps part of the well known ‘Arab Agricultural Revolution’ in Andalusia. This could have been a time when the gene pool of Iberian sheep was substantially enriched and may help to explain the history of modern sheep breeds in this Peninsula.

Keywords: Ovis aries; mtDNA lineages; Iberian Peninsula; sheep husbandry.
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