Inbreeding and population structure in the Swedish Landrace goat and a signature of selection in the region of the casein genes

The Swedish Landrace goat is the most common dairy goat in Sweden. However, very few genetic studies have been done on this breed. This study therefore aimed to describe the population structure and the level of inbreeding. Forty-eight (48) samples from eight farms were studied with a medium density SNP chip. To study the population structure, a principal coordinate analysis and an admixture analysis were conducted. The level of inbreeding was investigated with three measures; observed heterozygosity, F ROH and approximated coancestry. The results show that there is some structuring in the population and this structure is not solely due to the geographic location of these farms. The inbreeding level varies between the farms but is comparable to other European non-island goat populations. A potential signature of selection was identified on Chromosome 6 with ROH in the region of the casein genes. This is an important finding that shows that there have been selection for milk production. • The Swedish Landrace goat population shows structuring not entirely explained by farm geographic location. • The heterozygosity level varies between the farms varies but is comparable to other European non-island goat populations. • A potential signature of selection was identified on Chromosome 6 with ROH in the region of the casein genes