Evaluation of recent changes in genetic variability in Thoroughbred horses based on microsatellite markers parentage panel in Korea

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate the recent changes such as allele frequencies and total probability of exclusion (PE) in Thoroughbred horses in Korea using short tandem repeat (STR) parentage panels between 2006 and 2016. Methods: The genotype was provided for 5,988 horse samples with 15 microsatellite markers (AHT4, AHT5, ASB2, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS1, HMS2, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, HTG4, HTG10, LEX3 and VHL20). Results: In our study, the observed number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 (HMS1) to 9 (ASB17) in 2006 and 4 (HMS1) to 9 (ASB2) in 2016, with a mean value of 6.28 and 6.40, respectively. Of the 15 markers, HMS2, HTG4, and CA425 loci had relatively low polymorphism information content (<0.5000) in the Thoroughbred population. Mean levels of genetic variation in 2006 and 2016 were observed heterozygosity (HO) = 0.708, and expected heterozygosity (HE) = 0.685, as well as and HO = 0.699 and HE = 0.682, respectively. The PE was calculated for each group based on the allele frequencies of 14 or 15 STRs. The 2006 survey analyzed that PE was 0.9998, but it increased to 0.9999 in 2016 after the HMS2 marker was added in 2011. The current STR panel is still a powerful tool for parentage verification that contributes to the maintenance of integrity in the Thoroughbred population. Conclusion: The current STR panel is still a powerful tool for parentage verification that contributes to the maintenance of integrity in the Thoroughbred horses. However, continuous monitoring genetic variability is necessary.