An innovative approach: introducing novel sheep paternity testing panels

The aim of this research was to create various microsatellite paternity test panels that are efficient, cost-effective, simple, and accessible for paternity assessments within the Eşme sheep breed in Western Anatolia. The study included 2432 animals from sixteen farms, consisting of 147 rams and 2285 lambs. 17 microsatellite markers were utilized in the study to develop these test panels, prioritizing markers with high polymorphic information content (PIC) and probability of exclusion (PE) values. By combining markers with varying PIC and PE values, 16 distinct paternity test panels were established. The study revealed mean values for various parameters of the microsatellites used, with the lowest and highest PE values observed at specific loci. The combined probability of exclusion (CPE) for the test panels ranged from 0.9079844 to 0.9999998. Panels containing seven or more microsatellites with an exclusion probability above 0.999 were identified as suitable for paternity tests in the Eşme sheep breed. These findings have significantly advanced the development of efficient and cost-effective paternity tests in animal breeding programs.