Data from: A genome-wide assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Korean native cattle breeds

Background: The native cattle breeds are an important genetic resource for meat and milk production throughout Asia. In Asia cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago and in Korea cattle are being raised since 2000 B.C. There are three native breeds of cattle in Korea viz. Brown Hanwoo, Brindle Hanwoo and Jeju Black. While one of these breeds, Brown Hanwoo, is a part of a Food and Agricultural Organization and national genetic evaluation plans, others get little attention. This study is an effort to understand and provide a detailed insight into the population structure and genetic variability of the Korean cattle breeds along with other Asian breeds using various methods. In this study we report the genetic variation and structure of the Korean cattle breeds and their comparison with five other Asian cattle breeds along with a panel of animals from European taurine, African taurine and indicine cattle breeds.

Results: Asian cattle were found to be least differentiated which reflects their recent history. Amongst the Asian breeds Hainan, which is an indicine breed, had the lowest gene diversity while Yanbian had the highest followed by Mongolian and Korean cattle. Amongst the Korean breeds Brown Hanwoo had the highest diversity followed by Brindle Hanwoo and Jeju Black. The genetic diversity in Asian cattle breeds was found comparable to the European taurines and more than the African taurines and Zebu cattle. Korean cattle breed, Brown Hanwoo was consistently found to be closer to Yanbian, a Chinese cattle breed. We found low divergence and moderate levels of genetic diversity among the native Korean breeds. Indicine introgression from Hainan was seen in other Asian breeds. From Europe, Limousin, Holstein and Hereford introgression was found in Asian breeds.

Conclusions: In this study we provide a genome-wide insight into the genetic history of the native cattle breeds of Korea. The outcomes of this study will help in prioritization and designing of the conservation plans.

研究背景：本土黄牛品种是整个亚洲重要的肉用与奶用遗传资源。亚洲地区的黄牛驯化始于约1万年前，韩国的黄牛饲养历史可追溯至公元前2000年。韩国现有三个本土黄牛品种，分别为褐韩牛（Brown Hanwoo）、斑纹韩牛（Brindle Hanwoo）以及济州黑牛（Jeju Black）。其中，褐韩牛（Brown Hanwoo）已纳入粮食及农业组织（Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO）与国家级遗传评估计划，其余两个品种则鲜有研究关注。本研究旨在通过多种分析方法，系统解析韩国本土黄牛品种及其他亚洲黄牛品种的种群结构与遗传变异情况。本研究报道了韩国黄牛品种的遗传变异与种群结构，并将其与另外5个亚洲黄牛品种，以及欧洲普通牛（European taurine）、非洲普通牛（African taurine）和瘤牛（indicine）的参考样本群体进行了对比分析。

研究结果：亚洲黄牛的遗传分化程度最低，这与其近期的种群演化历史相符。在亚洲黄牛品种中，海南牛（Hainan，瘤牛品种）的基因多样性最低，延边牛（Yanbian）最高，其次为蒙古牛与韩国黄牛。韩国本土黄牛品种中，褐韩牛（Brown Hanwoo）的遗传多样性最高，其次为斑纹韩牛（Brindle Hanwoo）与济州黑牛（Jeju Black）。亚洲黄牛品种的遗传多样性水平与欧洲普通牛相当，且高于非洲普通牛与瘤牛（Zebu cattle）。研究始终发现，韩国的褐韩牛（Brown Hanwoo）与中国黄牛品种延边牛亲缘关系更为密切。韩国本土黄牛品种间的遗传分化程度较低，且遗传多样性处于中等水平。其他亚洲黄牛品种中均检测到来自海南牛的瘤牛血统基因渗入。亚洲黄牛品种中还检测到来自欧洲利木赞牛（Limousin）、荷斯坦牛（Holstein）与海福特牛（Hereford）的基因渗入。

研究结论：本研究从全基因组层面解析了韩国本土黄牛品种的遗传演化历史。本研究结果可为韩国本土黄牛的保护计划制定与优先级排序提供科学依据。