Recommendations for the use of microsatellite markers for parental reconstruction in rural sheep and goat populations

Proper knowledge about individual origin and pedigree is a major point for animal breeding and genetic livestock improvement. Mainly for goat, but also for sheep, breeding in Sicily information on these points is limited, and sometimes even misleading. Sheep and goat milk production is, in many regions and especially on Sicily, a rural enterprise, where males and females graze together and pedigree of offspring can be largely unknown. Genetic improvement in this situation is challenging. Modern DNA techniques can help to identify the parentage (PI, parental identification). In this paper we discuss (1) our set of microsatellites markers in relation to the ECONOGENE set, (2) accuracy of microsatellite genotyping for a goat and a sheep breed, (3) the principle of verification and identification as tested on one goat breeding farm, and (4) direct use of the technique in a running sheep or goat breeding program. For a practical application we suggest the use of around 20 quality microsatellite markers, and the use of primiparous milk analysis