Origin of Cuban Creole cattle inferred by patri- and matrilineages

Cattle was absent from America before the discovery. Initially, bovine were brought to Greater Antilles (La Española, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba islands), and in the course of a few years, they were taken from Caribbean islands to the rest of Latin America. Nowadays, Cuban Creole cattle population is about 1300 heads, mainly located in the eastern region of the island. With the aim of analyzing the maternal origin of Cuban Creole cattle and detect possible contemporaneous, male mediated, gene flow, a 240 pb fragment of mitochondrial D-loop (mtDNA) and five microsatellites of Y chromosome (BTY) were studied in 36 dams and 21 sires, respectively. Genetic diversity was evaluated through number of haplotypes, mean number of pairwise differences and nucleotide diversity. The phylogenetic analysis was performed using a median joining. A total of 15 mtDNA haplotypes were detected in the studied population (10 from the European haplogroup T3, 3 from the African T1, 1 from the Nearern East T2, and 1 ambiguous T1-T3). The number of polymorphic sites, the mean nucleotide diversity, and the mean number of pairwise differences were 23, 0.014 and 3.36, respectively. Two patrilinages were detected, both belonging to the Y3 Zebu haplogroup. In conclusion, Cuban Creole cattle population had a mtDNA haplotypic composition similar to the observed in Creole and Mediterranean breeds, what is in concordance with its historical origin. Y chromosome analysis evidenced a male mediated process of zebu introgression.