Genetic population structure of European Wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Lithuania before the spread of African Swine Fever

Abstract

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are among the most widely distributed large mammals in the world. The natural range of the species extends from Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin to Eastern Russia, Japan and South-east Asia. Every year, the number of wild boar populations in Lithuania is increasing, as wild boars are perfectly capable of adapting to adverse environmental conditions. The regulation of the number of wild boar populations through hunting partially solves the threat of ASF (African Swine Fever) spreading to new regions, but it is not known how the intensive reduction of population numbers will affect the genetic structure of wild boars in the future. The objectives of this study to evaluate the genetic structure of wild boar before 2014-2015 ASF breakthrough in Lithuania using microsatellite analysis. In total, 105 wild boar specimens were used for the study, collected from eleven locations in Lithuania. The microsatellite analysis of wild boar indicated high levels of genetic diversity within the population. The genetic differentiation among subpopulations based on Nei’s genetic distances and FST analysis was very low. The separation between the subpopulations of Lithuania was evidenced in the PCoA Subpopulation from Marijampolė district was slightly differentiated from the others. The Bayesian clustering analysis in STRUCTURE identified 4 genetic clusters among sampled wild boar that could not reveal a clear separation between subpopulations. Future studies will be helpful for understanding and comparing the detailed structure of wild boar populations in Lithuania before and after the spread of African Swine Fever.