Microsatellite polymorphism in closely related dogs

The effectiveness of microsatellites in parentage testing and individual identification has been proven in many species, including dogs. However, the use of these markers has not been extended to control for pedigrees in large populations of closely related animals. We have analyzed polymorphism in a set of 10 microsatellites over three generations of 360 pedigree rottweilers. Results were compared with two pure-bred populations of unrelated animals and with one population constituted by unrelated dogs of mixed breeds to measure polymorphism variation. We optimized this set of microsatellites to be analyzed by a semiautomated capillary electrophoresis method after amplification in two multiplex polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). The mean polymorphism information content (PIC) value in the rottweiler pedigree is 0.401 and the combined paternity exclusion probability (CPE) is 95.6%. These values are similar to those obtained in pure-bred populations of unrelated animals, and although polymorphism is reduced in relation to the pool population, we solved all paternity exclusions. In only a few cases did we have to use two additional microsatellites to solve individual identification of full-sib dogs.