Effects of crossbreeding and inbreeding on the frequencies of blood groups in three breeds of sheep

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Blood groups were determined for eight loci in a total of 742 sheep and for theTf(transferrin) locus of 512 sheep comprising the Scottish Blackface, the Cheviot and the Welsh Mountain breeds and their crosses. Each breed and cross was represented by a non-inbred F2generation and by three stages of inbreeding (25, 37½ and 50%). The loci for which all genotypes were distinguished were Hb, M, and Tf, and those for which partial description (including the recessive homozygote) was made were A, B, C, D, R and i.There were large differences among the three pure breeds only for the frequencies at the Hb and Tf loci. The homozygote frequencies of the Blackface-Welsh and Cheviot-Welsh crosses were approximately half-way between their respective pure breeds. For the Blackface-Cheviot cross the homozygote frequency was considerably lower than either parental breed, suggesting that over all loci there were greater differences in gene frequencies between these two breeds than between the Blackface and Welsh or Cheviot and Welsh.On average over all loci (except Tf) inbreeding had the effect of decreasing heterozygosity roughly in relation to expectation. Individually this effect was statistically significant only forii, MbMb, HbAHbAandHbbHbb. For the Tf locus there was no average decrease in heterozygosity as a result of 25% inbreeding but thereafter there was a greater decrease in the purebreds than in the crosses.There were small (< 0·20) but significant residual correlations between R-O-iiblood types and genotypes at several other loci, and betweenddand the M system genotypes.

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