Abstract
The Tibetan sheep is an indigenous breed living in the entire Tibetan Plateau, and its origin and phylogenic relationships are still uncertain and controversial. In this study, we analyzed partial mtDNA D-loop sequences of 156 Chinese Tibetan sheep individuals from 12 distributed geographic ecotype populations. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that three maternal lineages (haplogroups A, B and C) were found in this breed and that Ovis vignei and Ovis ammon have possibly contributed to the original Tibetan sheep. The absence of haplogroups D and E in Tibetan sheep suggests that this breed did not originate in the Middle East, China.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Funding information
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. SWU114023), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31172195), the 2013 Innovation Team Building Program in Chongqing Universities (KJTD201334) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. XDJK2014A010).