J. Anim. Breed. Genet. ISSN 0931-2668 ORIGINAL ARTICLE An insight into population structure and gene flow within pure-bred cats G. Leroy1,2, E. Vernet3, M.B. Pautet3 & X. Rognon1,2 1 UMR1313 Gen etique Animale et Biologie Integrative, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 2 UMR1313 Gen etique Animale et Biologie Integrative, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, France 3 LOOF, Pantin, France Keywords Summary Cat; gene flow; genetic variability; inbreeding; Investigation of genetic structure on the basis of pedigree information population structure. requires indicators adapted to the specific context of the populations stud- Correspondence ied. On the basis of pedigree-based estimates of diversity, we analysed G. Leroy, UMR1313 Gen etique Animale et genetic diversity, mating practices and gene flow among eight cat popula- Biologie Integrative, AgroParisTech, 16 rue tions raised in France, five of them being single breeds and three consist- Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris 05, France. ing of breed groups with varieties that may interbreed. When computed Tel: +33 (0) 1 44 08 17 46; Fax: +33 (0) 1 44 08 on the basis of coancestry rate, effective population sizes ranged from 127 86 22; E-mail:
[email protected] to 1406, while the contribution of founders from other breeds ranged from 0.7 to 16.4%. In the five breeds, FIS ranged between 0.96 and 1.83%, with Received: 29 October 2012; this result being related to mating practices such as close inbreeding (on accepted: 27 April 2013 average 5% of individuals being inbred within two generations). Within the three groups of varieties studied, FIT ranged from 1.59 to 3%, while FST values were estimated between 0.04 and 0.91%, which was linked to various amounts of gene exchanges between subpopulations at the paren- tal level.