Population genetic structure of Santa Inês sheep in Brazil

This study aimed to describe the population genetic structure and evaluate the state of conservation of the genetic variability of Santa Inês sheep in Brazil. We used pedigree data of the Santa Inês breed available in electronic processing of the Brazilian Association of Sheep Breeders. A file with 20,206 records, which enabled the calculation of the genetic conservation index (GCI), individual inbreeding coefficient (F), change in inbreeding (ΔF), effective population size (Ne), effective number of founders (?_e), effective number of ancestors (?_ɑ), generation interval (L), average relatedness coefficient of each individual (AR), and Wright’s F-statistics (F _IT, F _IS, and F _ST). For pedigree analysis and calculation of population parameters, the program ENDOG was used. The average inbreeding coefficient (\( \overline{F} \)) was 0.97% and the mean average relatedness (\( \overline{\mathrm{AR}} \)) 0.49%. The effective numbers of founders and ancestors were, respectively, 199 and 161. The average values of F and AR increased significantly over the years. The effective population size fluctuated over the years concurrently to oscillations in inbreeding rates, wherein N _e reached just 68 in the year 2012. The mean average generation interval was 5.3 years. The Santa Inês breed in Brazil is under genetic drift process, with loss of genetic variation. It requires the implementation of a genetic management plan in the herd, for conservation and improvement of the breed.     

Population structure and genetic variability in the Murrah dairy breed of water buffalo in Brazil accessed via pedigree analysis

The objective of this study was to use pedigree analysis to evaluate the population structure and genetic variability in the Murrah dairy breed of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Brazil. Pedigree analysis was performed on 5,061 animals born between 1972 and 2002. The effective number of founders (fe) was 60, representing 6.32?% of the potential number of founders. The effective number of ancestors (fa) was 36 and the genetic contribution of the 17 most influent ancestors explained 50?% of the genetic variability in the population. The ratio fe/fa (effective number of founders/effective number of ancestors), which expresses the effect of population bottlenecks, was 1.66. Completeness level for the whole pedigree was 76.8, 49.2, 27.7, and 12.8?% for, respectively, the first, second, third, and fourth known parental generations. The average inbreeding values for the whole analyzed pedigree and for inbreed animals were, respectively, 1.28 and 7.64?%. The average relatedness coefficient between individuals of the population was estimated to be 2.05?%??the highest individual coefficient was 10.31?%. The actual inbreeding and average relatedness coefficient are probably higher than estimated due to low levels of pedigree completeness. Moreover, the inbreeding coefficient increased with the addition of each generation to the pedigree, indicating that incomplete pedigrees tend to underestimate the level of inbreeding. Introduction of new sires with the lowest possible average relatedness coefficient and the use of appropriate mating strategies are recommended to keep inbreeding at acceptable levels and increase the genetic variability in this economically important species, which has relatively low numbers compared to other commercial cattle breeds. The inclusion of additional parameters, such as effective number of founders, effective number of ancestors, and fe/fa ratio, provides better resolution as compared to the inclusion of inbreeding coefficient and may help breeders and farmers adopt better precautionary measures against inbreeding depression and other deleterious genetic effects.     

Pedigree analysis of the Hungarian Thoroughbred population

The aim of the study was to analyse the pedigree information of Thoroughbred horses which were participating in gallop races between 1998 and 2010 in Hungary. Among the 3043 individuals of the reference population there were imported animals from foreign countries (e.g. Germany, England or Ireland) and horses that were born in Hungary. The number of complete generations was 15.64 (varied between 0 for the founders and 25.20), the mean number of full generations was 6.69, and the mean maximum generations were 28.96. The number of founders was 1062, and the effective number of founders was 42. Two hundred and thirty-two founders were born before 1793 (when the stud book of the Thoroughbred breed was closed), therefore these founders are considered as true founders of the breed. These 232 founders were responsible for 88.58% of the gene pool in the reference genome. The significant difference between the number of founders and effective number of founders indicate that the genetic diversity decreased greatly from the founders to the reference population. The number of ancestors was 908 and only 6 of them were responsible for 50% of the genetic diversity in the examined population. The effective number of ancestors was 15.32. From the ratio of the effective number of founders and effective number of ancestors we concluded to a bottleneck effect that characterizes the pedigree under study. Generation interval was more than a year longer for stallions (12.17) than it was for mares (10.64). More than 94% of the individuals in the pedigree were inbred, and the average inbreeding of the population was 9.58%. Considering the changes of the inbreeding status of the examined population 4 large time periods were appointed. The first lasted until 1780, the second period was from 1780 until 1952, the third period was between 1946 and 1998 and the last one was from 1998 until 2008. Rate of inbreeding in the last generation was 0.3%, which forecasts further increase in inbreeding. The effective population size was above 100 in the last 30 generations, proving the genetic diversity did not decrease by a level that would make long-term selection impossible.     

Investigation of genetic diversity and inbreeding in a Japanese native horse breed for suggestions on its conservation

Because native breeds can serve as genetic resources for adapting to environment changes, their conservation is important for future agroecosystems. Using pedigree analysis, we investigated genetic diversity and inbreeding in Japanese Hokkaido native horses, which have adapted to a cold climate and roughage diet. Genetic diversity was measured as the number of founders and the effective number of founders, ancestors and genomes. All metrics imply a decrease in genetic diversity. A comparison of these metrics suggested that pedigree bottlenecks contributed more than did random gene losses to the reduction of genetic diversity. Estimates of marginal contributions of ancestors suggest that the bottlenecks arose mainly because related stallions had been used for breeding. A tendency for an increase in inbreeding coefficients was observed. F‐statistics revealed that a small effective population size majorly contributed to this increase, although non‐random mating in particular regions also contributed. Because the bottlenecks are thought to have reduced the effective population size, our results imply that mitigation of bottlenecks is important for conservation. To this end, breeding should involve genetically diverse stallions. In addition, to prevent non‐random mating observed in particular regions, efforts should be made to plan mating with consideration of kinships.     

Rates of inbreeding and genetic diversity in Iranian Holstein Cattle

The accumulation of inbreeding and the loss of genetic diversity is a potential problem in Holstein dairy cattle. The goal of this study was to estimate inbreeding levels and other measures of genetic diversity, using pedigree information from Iranian Holstein cattle. Edited pedigree included 1 048 572 animals. The average number of discrete generation equivalents and pedigree completeness index reached 13.4 and 90%, respectively. The rate of inbreeding was 0.3% per year. Effective number of founders, founder genomes, non‐founders and ancestors of animals born between 2003 and 2011 were 503, 15.6, 16.1 and 25.7, respectively. It was proven that the unequal founder contributions as well as bottlenecks and genetic drift were important reasons for the loss of genetic diversity in the population. The top 10 ancestors with the highest marginal genetic contributions to animals born between 2003 and 2011 and with the highest contributions to inbreeding were 48.20% and 63.94%, respectively. Analyses revealed that the most important cause of genetic diversity loss was genetic drift accumulated over non‐founder generations, which occurred due to small effective population size. Therefore, it seems that managing selection and mating decisions are controlling future co‐ancestry and inbreeding, which would lead to better handling of the effective population size.     

Pedigree structure and genetic variation in the two endangered Norwegian horse breeds: D⊘le and Nordland/Lyngen

Abstract

To examine the genetic variation in two endangered Norwegian horse breeds, the pedigree structures were investigated, and key parameters such as inbreeding coefficients, effective population size, effective number of founders, effective number of ancestors and effective number of founder genomes were calculated. The data consisted of 31,142 individuals of the D?le horse and 1973 individuals of the Nordland/Lyngen horse, for which the complete generation equivalent was 10.5 and 7.2, respectively. In both breeds, the pedigree data were more than 98.5% complete in the fourth generation, allowing the rate of inbreeding and the effective population size to be precisely estimated, actually measuring the fractional loss of heterozygosity, comparable across generations (not so for the other measures). The level of inbreeding was about 12% in both breeds, with a rather wavy pattern during the past 50 years in the D?le. Considering the last generations only, the effective population size was found to be 152 in the D?le and 42 in the Nordland/Lyngen. For both populations selection in the future should be based on optimal contribution.     

Evaluation of inbreeding and genetic diversity in Japanese Shorthorn cattle by pedigree analysis

The Japanese Shorthorn is a Japanese Wagyu breed maintained at a small population size. We assessed the degree of inbreeding and genetic diversity among Japanese Shorthorn cattle using pedigree analysis. We analyzed the pedigree records of registered Japanese Shorthorn born between 1980 and 2018, after evaluating the pedigree completeness. The average of the actual inbreeding coefficients increased at the same rates annually from approximately 1.5% in 1980 to 4.2% in 2018 and was higher than the expected inbreeding coefficients over time. The effective population size based on the individual coancestry rate largely decreased from 127.8 in 1980 to 82.6 in 1999, and then remained almost constant at approximately 90. Three effective numbers of ancestors decreased over time until 1995, then remained almost constant. In particular, the effective number of founder genomes (N_ge) decreased from 43.8 in 1980 to 11.9 in 2018. The index of genetic diversity based on N_ge decreased from 0.99 in 1980 to 0.96 in 2018 due to genetic drift in non-founder generations. Changes in inbreeding and genetic diversity parameters were similar between Japanese Shorthorn and other Japanese Wagyu breeds, but the magnitude of the changes was lower in the Japanese Shorthorn.     

Pedigree information reveals moderate to high levels of inbreeding and a weak population structure in the endangered Catalonian donkey breed

The Catalonian donkey is one of the most endangered donkey breeds in the world. At present, five main subpopulations exist: AFRAC, which consists of many genetically connected Catalonian localities; Berga, which consists of a single herd located also in Catalunya but under private management; and three minor non‐Catalonian subpopulations (Huesca, Sevilla and Toledo). In this study, we analysed the pedigree information of the Catalonian donkey herdbook to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the breed. We found that the Catalonian donkey has suffered an important loss of genetic diversity and moderate to high increases of inbreeding because of the abuse of a few individuals in matings. This scenario is mainly characterized by the fact that both the effective number of founders and ancestors for the whole population was 70.6 and 27, respectively, while the equivalent number of founders was 146.5 and the number of ancestors explaining overall genetic variability was 93. In addition, only 14% of animals born between the 1960s and 1970s were significantly represented in the pedigree. Our results also show that subpopulations where breeders exchanged reproductive individuals had low levels of inbreeding and average relatedness. One subpopulation, Berga, was reproductively isolated and showed high levels of inbreeding (F = 7.22%), with average relatedness (AR = 6.61%) playing an important role in increasing the values of these coefficients in the whole pedigree. Using genealogical F‐statistics we have found little evidence of population structuring (F_ST = 0.0083) with major genetic differences among non‐Catalonian subpopulations.     

Genetic variability in Colombian Creole cattle populations estimated by pedigree information

The genetic structure of 4 Colombian Creole cattle breeds, namely, Coste?o con Cuernos, Blanco Orejinegro (BON), Romosinuano (ROMO), and Sanmartinero (SM), was studied with an analysis of the available pedigree data. The comparison between the effective number of founders (f(e)) and the effective number of ancestors (f(a)) revealed a decrease in the genetic variation that was rather important for the ROMO and San Martinero breeds, which had the lowest f(a)/f(e) ratios (0.34 and 0.53, respectively). All breeds showed similar values for the number of equivalent generations traced, ranging from 3.1 in BON to 4.8 in ROMO. These 2 populations also had the lowest and the highest population sizes, respectively. The lowest average inbreeding coefficient considering the whole pedigree was obtained by BON (0.18%), whereas the highest was attained by ROMO (1.22%). Finally, the percentage of individuals with an inbreeding level greater than 6.25% in the reference population was high, indicating that the existing conservation management strategies could be improved to successfully maintain the genetic variability of these populations.     

An insight into population structure and gene flow within pure‐bred cats

Investigation of genetic structure on the basis of pedigree information requires indicators adapted to the specific context of the populations studied. On the basis of pedigree‐based estimates of diversity, we analysed genetic diversity, mating practices and gene flow among eight cat populations raised in France, five of them being single breeds and three consisting of breed groups with varieties that may interbreed. When computed on the basis of coancestry rate, effective population sizes ranged from 127 to 1406, while the contribution of founders from other breeds ranged from 0.7 to 16.4%. In the five breeds, F_IS ranged between 0.96 and 1.83%, with this result being related to mating practices such as close inbreeding (on average 5% of individuals being inbred within two generations). Within the three groups of varieties studied, F_IT ranged from 1.59 to 3%, while values were estimated between 0.04 and 0.91%, which was linked to various amounts of gene exchanges between subpopulations at the parental level. The results indicate that cat breeds constitute populations submitted to low selection intensity, contrasting with relatively high individual inbreeding level caused by close inbreeding practices.     

Pedigree analysis in the Austrian Noriker draught horse: genetic diversity and the impact of breeding for coat colour on population structure

The pedigree of the current Austrian Noriker draught horse population comprising 2808 horses was traced back to the animals considered as founders of this breed. In total, the number of founders was 1991, the maximum pedigree length was 31 generations, with an average of 12.3 complete generations. Population structure in this autochthonous Austrian draught horse breed is defined by seven breeding regions (Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Upper Austria and Vorarlberg) or through six coat colour groups (Bay, Black, Chestnut, Roan, Leopard, Tobiano). Average inbreeding coefficients within the breeding regions ranged from 4.5% to 5.5%; for the colour groups, the coefficients varied from 3.5% to 5.9%. Other measures of genetic variability like the effective number of founders, ancestors and founder genomes revealed a slightly different genetic background of the subpopulations. Average coancestries between and within breeding areas showed that the Salzburg population may be considered as the nucleus or original stock whereas all other subpopulations showed high relationship to horses from Salzburg. The target of draught horse breeding in the 21st century does not meet the breeding concept of maximizing genetic gains any more. Stabilizing selection takes place. In this study, we show that demographic factors as well as structure given by different coat colours helped to maintain genetic diversity in this endangered horse breed.     

Assessing effective population size,coancestry and inbreeding effects on litter size using the pedigree and SNP data in closed lines of the Iberian pig breed

The complete pedigree of two closed Iberian pig lines (Gamito and Torbiscal), with 798 and 4077 reproducers, has been used to measure the evolution of coancestry (f) and inbreeding (F) for autosomal and X‐linked genes along 16 and 28 respective equivalent discrete generations. At the last generation, the mean values of each line were f = 0.41 and 0.22, F = 0.35 and 0.18, f_X = 0.46 and 0.22 and F_X = 0.47 and 0.19, respectively. Other calculated parameters were the effective number of founders (final values, 6.8 and 35.2) and non‐founders (1.5 and 2.4), founder genome equivalents (1.2 and 2.3) and effective population size (16.0 and 57.7). Measures of Torbiscal effective size based on rates of coancestry (66.1), inbreeding (65.0) and linkage disequilibrium (71.0) were estimated from whole‐genome SNP genotyping data. Values of new and old inbreeding and their respective rates by generation were computed to detect purging effects of natural selection. The analysis of 6854 Torbiscal litters showed significant negative impacts of new and fast inbreeding on litter size, as expected from the purging hypothesis: ?0.20 born piglets per litter by a 10% of new inbreeding, and ?0.03 and ?0.02 piglets by 1% of total and new inbreeding rates, respectively. The analysis performed on 1274 litters of the Gamito line failed to show purging effects. The only significant results were reductions in ?0.91 and ?0.17 piglets by a 10% of old and X‐linked genes inbreeding, respectively. These results may be useful for some practical issues in conservation programs of farm or captive wild animals.     

Inbreeding depression for economically important traits of Mazandaran native fowls

1. The objective was to investigate inbreeding depression for some economic traits of Mazandaran native fowls using data collected from 1992 to 2012 (21 generations) using a REML animal model of significant fixed and random effects with inbreeding of birds and dams as covariates.

2. The mean inbreeding coefficient (F) for the whole population and dams was 4.67% and 4.12%, respectively, and most of the inbred birds (75.79%) and inbred dams (72.58%) had F < 12.5%.

3. Individual and dam inbreeding trends were 0.55% and 0.53% per year.

4. Inbreeding depression for body weight at hatch, at 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age, age at sexual maturity, weight at sexual maturity, egg weight at 1st d of laying and average egg weight at 28, 30 and 32 weeks of laying due to a 1% increase in individual inbreeding were ?0.11 g, ?3.1 g, ?1.3 g, 0.15 d, 0.59 g, ?0.05 g and ?0.03 g, respectively.

5. A 1% increase in maternal inbreeding resulted in a reduction of 0.06, 0.6 and 3.6 g in body weight at hatch, 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age.

     

Relationship between genealogical and microsatellite information characterizing losses of genetic variability: Empirical evidence from the rare Xalda sheep breed

Preservation of rare genetic stocks requires continual monitoring of populations to avoid losses of genetic variability. Genetic variability can be described using genealogical and molecular parameters characterizing variation in allelic frequencies over time and providing interesting information on differentiation that occurred after the foundation of a conservation program. Here we analyze the pedigree of the rare Xalda sheep breed (1851 individuals) and the polymorphism of 14 microsatellites in 239 Xalda individuals. Individuals were assigned to a base population (BP) or 4 different cohorts (from C1 to C4) according to their pedigree information. Genetic parameters were computed at a genealogical and molecular level, namely inbreeding (F), observed (H_o) and expected (H_e) heterozygosity, individual coancestry coefficients (f and f_m), average relatedness (AR), mean molecular kinship (Mk), average number of allele per locus (A), effective number of ancestors (f_a), effective population size (N_e and N_e(m)) and founder genome equivalents (N_g and N_g(m)). In general, the computed parameters increased with pedigree depth from BP to C4, especially for the genealogical information and molecular coancestry-based parameters (f_m, Mk and N_g(m)). However, H_o and H_e showed the highest values for C1 and the molecular heterozygote deficiency within population (F_IS(m)) showed the lowest value for C1, thus indicating that loss of genetic variability occurs very soon after the implementation of conservation strategies. Although no genealogical or molecular parameters are sufficient by themselves for monitoring populations at the beginning of a conservation program, our data suggests that coancestry-based parameters may be better criteria than those of inbreeding or homozygosity because of the rapid and strong correlation established between f and f_(m). However, the obtaining of molecular information in well-established conservation programs could not be justified, at least in economic terms.     

Inbreeding trends and pedigree analysis of Irish dairy and beef cattle populations

The objective of this study was to determine the inbreeding levels and to analyze the pedigree of Irish purebred populations of Charolais, Limousin, Hereford, Angus, and Simmental beef cattle, as well as the Holstein-Friesian dairy breed. Pedigree analyses included quantifying the depth of known pedigree, average generation intervals, effective population size, the effective number of founders, ancestors, and founder genomes, as well as identifying the most influential animals within the current population of each breed. The annual rate of increase in inbreeding over the past decade was 0.13% (P < 0.001) in the Hereford, 0.06% (P < 0.001) in the Simmental, and 0.10% (P < 0.001) in the Holstein-Friesian breeds. Inbreeding in the other breeds remained relatively constant over the past decade. Herefords had the greatest mean inbreeding in 2004, at 2.19%, whereas Charolais had the lowest, at 0.54%. Over half of each purebred population in 2004 was inbred to some degree; the population with the greatest proportion of animals inbred was the Hereford breed (85%). All 6 breeds displayed a generation interval of approximately 6 yr in recent years. In the pure-bred females born in 2004, the 3 most influential animals contributed between 11% (Limousin) and 24% (Hereford) of the genes. Effective population size was estimated for the Hereford, Simmental, and Holstein-Friesian only, and was 64, 127, and 75, respectively. The effective number of founders varied from 55 (Simmental) to 357 (Charolais), whereas the effective number of ancestors varied from 35 (Simmental and Hereford) to 82 (Limousin). Thus, despite the majority of animals being inbred, the inbreeding level across breeds is low but rising at a slow rate in the Hereford, Simmental, and Holstein-Friesian.     

Pedigree analysis in the Brazilian Zebu breeds

Zebu breeds play an important role in cattle production systems in Brazil. To assess the genetic variability from animals in the Herd Books of Nelore, Gir and Guzerat breeds, generation intervals, inbreeding, effective population size and parameters of gene origin (effective number of founders, ancestors and founder genomes) were calculated using pedigree records from 1938 to 1998. Breed subdivision was quantified by Wright's F -statistics. Calculations were separately carried out for consecutive 4-year intervals in the period 1979–98. Generation interval was around 8 years for the three breeds. Total inbreeding increased in all the breeds reaching values of 2.13%, 2.28% and 1.75%. Effective population size decreased from 85 to 68 in Nelore, from 70 to 45 in Gir and remained nearly constant around 104 in Guzerat. The quantities assessing the number of contributing ancestors decreased with time in all the breeds, and in the last analysed period the most important ancestor accounted for 14%, 3.1% and 4.1% in Nelore, Gir and Guzerat, respectively. Results indicate that the studied breeds are suffering from a loss of genetic variability which can result in negative effects on breeding and conservation purposes.     

Indicators of genetic erosion in an endangered population: the Alentejana cattle breed in Portugal

A study was conducted to characterize genetic diversity in the Alentejana breed of cattle based on its demographic trends and to investigate the major factors affecting genetic erosion in this breed. Herdbook information collected between 1940 and 2004, including pedigree records on 100,562 animals in 155 herds, was used to estimate demographic parameters. The mean generation intervals were 6.0 +/- 2.4 yr and 6.8 +/- 3.2 yr for sires and dams of calves, respectively. Average inbreeding increased steadily over the period analyzed, with an annual rate of inbreeding of 0.33 +/- 0.004% (P < 0.01) and an effective population size of 23.3. In the reference population (28,531 calves born between 2000 and 2003) the average inbreeding was 8.35 +/- 9.02% and nearly 80% of the calves were inbred, whereas the average relationship among all animals was 0.026 +/- 0.040. Nevertheless, the mean relationship was 0.328 +/- 0.264 and 0.022 +/- 0.026 for animals born in the same and in different herds, respectively. The computed genetic contributions to the reference population resulted in estimates for the effective number of founders, ancestors, founding herds, and herds supplying sires of 121.6, 55.0, 17.1, and 26.9, respectively, the 2 most influential herds and ancestors contributing 24.2 and 15.1%, respectively, of the current genetic pool. Of the 671 founding sires, only 24 Y-chromosomes are currently represented, but 1 sire alone contributes nearly 60% of this representation, such that the effective number of Y-chromosomes is only 2.73. The observed inbreeding per herd was, on average, 0.053 +/- 0.071 lower than expected from the relationship among the generation of parents of calves in the reference population, indicating that producers have followed breeding strategies that have kept inbreeding at lower levels than anticipated with random selection and mating. When compared with other cattle breeds, Alentejana has some of the highest levels of mean inbreeding and annual rate of inbreeding, and an effective population size that is nearly half of the minimum recommended for maintenance of genetic variability. These critical indicators demonstrate the need to adopt strategies aimed at minimizing inbreeding to avoid further losses of genetic diversity.     

Founder representation and effective population size in old versus young breeds—genetic diversity of Finnish and Nordic Spitz

Finnish Spitz is 130‐year‐old breed and has been highly popular in Finland throughout its history. Nordic Spitz is very similar to Finnish Spitz by origin and use, but is a relatively recent breed with much smaller population size. To see how breed age and breeding history have influenced the current population, we performed comprehensive population genetic analysis using pedigree data of 28,119 Finnish and 9,009 Nordic Spitzes combined with genomewide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 135 Finnish and 110 Nordic Spitzes. We found that the Finnish Spitz has undergone repeated male bottlenecks resulting in dramatic loss of genetic diversity, reflected by 20 effective founders (f_a) and mean heterozygosity (Hz) of 0.313. The realized effective population size in the breed based on pedigree analysis () is 168, whereas the genetic effective population size (N_eg) computed the decay of linkage disequilibrium (r²) is only 57 individuals. Nordic Spitz, although once been near extinction, has not been exposed to similar repeated bottlenecks than Finnish Spitz and had f_a of 27 individuals. However, due to the smaller total population size, the breed has also smaller effective population size than Finnish Spitz ( = 98 and N_eg = 49). Interestingly, the r² data show that the effective population size has contracted dramatically since the establishment of the breed, emphasizing the role of breed standards as constrains for the breeding population. Despite the small population size, Nordic Spitz still maintains SNP heterozygosity levels similar to mixed breed dogs (mean Hz = 0.409). Our study demonstrates that although pedigree analyses cannot provide estimates of the present diversity within a breed, the effective population sizes inferred from them correlate with the genotyping results. The genetic relationships of the northern Spitz breeds and the benefits of the open breed registry are discussed.     

Monitoring of genetic diversity in the endangered Martina Franca donkey population

The Martina Franca (MF) donkey, an ancient native breed of Apulia, was mostly famous for mule production. The breed was at serious risk of extinction in the 1980s following the decrease in demand for draft animals because they were increasingly replaced by agricultural machinery. Much has been done in the last few decades to safeguard the existing donkey breeds, but the situation remains critical. Successful implementation of conservation measures includes an evaluation of the present degree of breed endangerment, so the aim of this work was to analyze the demographic and genetic parameters of this breed to suggest effective conservation strategies. With a current breed register counting less than 500 recorded animals, the pedigree data set included 1,658 MF donkeys born between 1929 and 2006. Analyses were carried out on the whole data set as well as on a smaller one consisting of 422 living animals. Demographic and genetic variability parameters were evaluated using the ENDOG (v4.6) software. The pedigree completeness level was evaluated as well as the generation length, which was calculated for each of the 4 gametic pathways. This information was obtained from animal birth date records together with those of their fathers and mothers. The effective number of founders (f(e)), the effective number of ancestors (f(a)), the founder genome (f(g)), individual inbreeding (F), average relatedness (AR), and the rate of inbreeding per generation were analyzed to describe the genetic variability of the population. Because pedigree depth and completeness were appropriate, especially regarding the current population, the parameters defining genetic variability, namely, f(e), f(a), f(g), F, and AR, could be reliably estimated. Analysis of these parameters highlighted the endangerment status of the MF donkey. Our special concern was with the increased percentage of males and females exhibiting increased AR values. Moreover, the effective size of the current population, 48.08, is slightly less than the range of the minimum effective size, and the rates of inbreeding per generation found in the current MF population exceed the maximum recommended level of 1%. Such a scenario heightens concerns over the endangered status of the MF breed and calls for proper conservation measures and breeding strategies, such as selecting individuals for mating when relationships are below 12.5%.