Estimation of Effective Population Size in the Sapsaree: A Korean Native Dog (Canis familiaris)

Effective population size ($N_e$) is an important measure to understand population structure and genetic variability in animal species. The objective of this study was to estimate $N_e$ in Sapsaree dogs using the information of rate of inbreeding and genomic data that were obtained from pedigree and the Illumina CanineSNP20 (20K) and CanineHD (170K) beadchips, respectively. Three SNP panels, i.e. Sap134 (20K), Sap60 (170K), and Sap183 (the combined panel from the 20K and 170K), were used to genotype 134, 60, and 183 animal samples, respectively. The $N_e$ estimates based on inbreeding rate ranged from 16 to 51 about five to 13 generations ago. With the use of SNP genotypes, two methods were applied for $N_e$ estimation, i.e. pair-wise $r^2$ values using a simple expectation of distance and $r^2$ values under a non-linear regression with respective distances assuming a finite population size. The average pair-wise $N_e$ estimates across generations using the pairs of SNPs that were located within 5 Mb in the Sap134, Sap60, and Sap183 panels, were 1,486, 1,025 and 1,293, respectively. Under the non-linear regression method, the average $N_e$ estimates were 1,601, 528, and 1,129 for the respective panels. Also, the point estimates of past $N_e$ at 5, 20, and 50 generations ago ranged between 64 to 75, 245 to 286, and 573 to 646, respectively, indicating a significant $N_e$ reduction in the last several generations. These results suggest a strong necessity for minimizing inbreeding through the application of genomic selection or other breeding strategies to increase $N_e$, so as to maintain genetic variation and to avoid future bottlenecks in the Sapsaree population.