DefinePK

Abstract

Little research has been conducted on domestic donkeys compared with other livestock and companion animals in South Korea. There is no database that records the origins of domestic donkeys in South Korea, although most of the origins of Korean domestic donkeys are known to be in the northern areas (China, Mongolia). The present study conducted research to shed light on the phylogenetic characteristics and migratory route of domestic donkeys. This is the first mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) analysis of donkeys in South Korea. Mt-DNA base pairs of five Korean domestic donkeys were analyzed. A total of 16,670 base pairs and 38 related genes were observed in these donkeys. The result of an analysis of haplotype in CytB domain, revealed that there were 5 polymorphisms, 3 haplotypes, a haplotype diversity value of 0.800 and nucleotide diversity value of 0.00211 in domestic donkeys. As a result of analyzing the phylogenetic analysis based on these results, it is assumed that domestic donkeys were introduced to South Korea via China originated from the Somali wild ass breeds of northern region.