Assessing the Genomics Structure of Dorper and White Dorper Variants, and Dorper Populations in South Africa and Hungary

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The Dorper sheep breed was created to thrive in harsh environments in South Africa. Two breed variants were developed in the selection process. The breed gained popularity and was exported to several regions of the world where it is reported to be doing better than the purported locally adapted sheep breeds. To enhance the performance of other native sheep breeds, Dorper is widely utilized in crossbreeding with native breeds. There has not been any research done to examine the genomic status of Dorper in South Africa and Dorper in other places outside of South Africa. The genomic architecture of white Dorper and Dorper from South Africa and Hungary are compared in this study. White Dorper, Dorper, and Dorpers from South Africa and Hungary all have significantly distinct genomes. Different environmental factors and variations in coat color could be the cause of the genetic variations. ABSTRACT: Dorper sheep was developed for meat production in arid and semi-arid regions under extensive production systems in South Africa. Two variants with distinct head and neck colors were bred during their development process. White Dorper have a white coat while Dorper have a black head and neck. Both variants have grown in popularity around the world. Therefore, understanding the genomic architecture between South African Dorpers and Dorper populations adapted to other climatic regions, as well as genomic differences between Dorper and White Dorper variants is vital for their molecular management. Using the ovine 50K SNP chip, this study compared the genetic architecture of Dorper variants between populations from South Africa and Hungary. The Dorper populations in both countries had high genetic diversity levels, although Dorper in Hungary showed high levels of inbreeding. White Dorpers from both countries were genetically closely related, while Dorpers were distantly related according to principal component analysis and neighbor-joining tree. Additionally, whereas all groups displayed unique selection signatures for local adaptation, Dorpers from Hungary had a similar linkage disequilibrium decay. Environmental differences and color may have influenced the genetic differentiation between the Dorpers. For their molecular management and prospective genomic selection, it is crucial to understand the Dorper sheep’s genomic architecture, and the results of this study can be interpreted as a step in this direction.