Spatial genetic structure of the 'Gos d'Atura' dog breed in Catalonia (Spain)

Six 'Gos d'Atura' dog populations were studied in Catalonia (Spain) using 21 allozymic loci. Of these loci, 11 were polymorphic (Sod, Lap, Mpi, Alb, Pep-D, Tf, α1B, Pi-1, Prt-1, Prt-2 and Pa-1). The levels of expected average heterozygosity and the percentage of polymorphism were high compared to other mammals, and all populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The overall genetic heterogeneity was relatively small (F(st) = 0.04), although significant. Only one locus (Pi-1) showed clear significant heterogeneity. This locus also showed a significant monotonic cline when a spatial autocorrelation analysis was conducted. Other loci (Sod A, Alb S, Tf B, pi-1 F, Mpi A, Pep-D A) showed significant spatial structure but were not monotonic clinal. Some of them, such as Tf B and Pep-D, showed differentiation between distant populations and Mpi A showed significant similarity between the closest populations.