Genetic diversity of wild boar populations and domestic pig breeds (Sus scrofa) in South-western Europe

2010/10/19 by Paulo C. Alves, PAULO CÉLIO ALVES, Iris Pinheiro +9 · 58 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Biology #Demography #Domestic pig #Ecology #Gene #Gene pool #Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals #Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock #Genetic diversity #Genetic diversity and population structure #Genetic structure #Genetic variation #Genetics #Genotype #Geography #Haplotype #Introgression #Mitochondrial DNA #Phylogenetic tree #Phylogeography #Population #Wild boar #Zoology #mtDNA control region

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01530.x

published in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 101(4), 797-822 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 2010/10/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The Eurasian wild boar, Sus scrofa, is an important game species and is widely distributed in Eurasia. The recent demographic expansions allied to man mediated translocations and reintroductions, reshaped the genetic variability of wild boar populations, and gave rise to management problems. Genetic variability and the population structure of the European populations are not well-known, in particular in the Iberian Peninsula. In the present study, we assessed the phylogenetic relationship among 17 Iberian wild boar populations and several Eurasian wild and domestic pigs by sequencing 660 bp of the mitochondrial (mt)DNA control region. This analysis was extended to the two autochthonous Portuguese pig breeds, Bsaro and Alentejano, and their relationship with Eurasian pigs was also established. High levels of gene diversity were found in Iberian wild boar and Portuguese domestic pigs, as well as a significant genetic difference among and within populations. Iberian wild boar and Portuguese pig breeds belong to the main European clade but diverge with animals from Central Europe, showing a high proportion of private (Iberian) haplotypes. These results suggest the existence of glacial refugia for Sus scrofa in the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum. No signs of Asian mtDNA introgression from Asian populations were found in the present survey.

Citations

• A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences

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• Population Genetic Structure of the Wild Boar ( Sus scrofa ) in the Carpathian Basin. [europepmc]
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• Spatial genetic structure of European wild boar, with inferences on late-Pleistocene and Holocene demographic history. [europepmc]
• Mitochondrial Phylogeography of Wild Boars, Sus scrofa , from Asia Minor: Endemic Lineages, Natural Immigration, Historical Anthropogenic Translocations, and Possible Introgression of Domestic Pigs. [europepmc]
• Comparative evaluation of histopathological lesions and viral antigen distribution in domestic pigs and wild boar inoculated intranasally with the highly virulent ASFV genotype II strain "Armenia 2007". [europepmc]
• Dynamics of leukocyte populations, immune-regulatory cytokines, and biochemical parameters in wild boar and domestic pigs experimentally infected with a virulent African swine fever virus genotype II strain. [europepmc]
• Genome-wide association analyses for growth, carcass composition, and meat quality traits of Iberian pigs fattened in free open air. [europepmc]

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