Genetic variability of three Italian cattle breeds determined by parameters based on probabilities of gene origin

In this study, we have investigated the genetic variability of three Italian cattle breeds, autochthonous of the Tuscany region (Chianina, Maremmana and Mucca Pisana), using the parameters based on probabilities of gene origin: fe, fa and Ng. Compared with Chianina (Ng = 53.9) and Maremmana (Ng = 79.6), Mucca Pisana was found to be the genetically smaller (Ng = 10.1) and less diverse population. The genetic variability in Chianina population was lower than in Maremmana probably because of bottlenecks in its pedigree and genetic drift. However, the values found in these breeds were higher than those found in dairy cattle breeds, but lower than those found in beef cattle breeds.