The Moroccan sheep population is almost entirely native, with various sheep types falling into the category of "wooled thin-tailed sheep". These breeds are spread over a large and heterogeneous area, including the anti-Atlas and the Rif.
Geographical Subgroups of Moroccan Sheep Breeds
The breeds fall into three geographical subgroups:
- Breeds of the plateau
- Breeds of the Atlantic coast
- Mountain breeds
Understanding the differentiation of these populations is a difficult task, given the history of migration and admixture in the region. Phylogenetic and network analyses indicate a common genetic background among the breeds, with geographical structuration evident in spatial analyses.
Historical Context and Genetic Differentiation
Based on the relatively homogeneous origin of the sheep breeds in Morocco that originate mainly from Iberia, it is highly relevant to address the question of how these very diverse sheep populations differentiated from each other. The Mountains of the High Atlas and Middle Atlas are expected to constitute North-South and West-East geographical barriers, respectively, which could have shaped the history of the differentiation of sheep breeds. Phylogenetic and network analyses did not indicate any clear separation among the studied breeds and discriminant component principal analysis showed some overlap between them, which indicates a common genetic background.
Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that more than 95% of the genetic diversity occurs within individuals, while between- and within-population variabilities represent only 1.332% and 2.881%, respectively. Isolation-by-distance, spatial Principal Component Analysis (sPCA), and spatial AMOVA analyses evidenced clear examples of geographical structuration among the breeds, both between and within breeds.
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Unraveling how the sheep breeds of a region have progressively differentiated from each other is a difficult task. The main reason is that countries are often situated on a route of migration and thus have experienced several independent migration events in the past, resulting in further admixture of the populations. Recently, mtDNA analysis revealed that 79% of the genetic background of Moroccan sheep derives from sheep from the Iberian Peninsula and 21% from sheep from a territory between Middle East and Africa, with a calculated expansion time ranging from 7100 to 8600 years B.P. and moderate exchanges in both directions in more recent times, which is coupled with an influence from Italian sheep.
The major split seems to be linked to the West-East barrier of the Middle Atlas, whereas the influence of the High Atlas is less obvious and incompletely resolved.
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Economic and Social Role
Morocco is a sheep breeding country and with more than 0.5 sheep per inhabitant, it has the highest production potential of the Maghreb countries. The number of sheep is estimated at around 19.9 million heads. The local sheep breeds in Morocco constitute an important reservoir of genetic diversity, play a crucial economic and social role for the rural populations, and hold a ritual role in religious festivals and other socio-cultural traditions. They are well adapted to different agro-ecological zones over the whole country, and enhance fodder resources that are rather marginal in terms of quality as well as by-products of crop production.
Ninety-nine per cent of the Moroccan sheep are composed of the so-called “local” type, with 43% of the so-called “common” sheep and 57% of pure sheep. Among the latter, 40% have a well-defined standard and the remainder are mainly composed of the so-called Mountain sheep.
Main Sheep Breeds in Morocco
Six breeds, which are phenotypically well distinguished and adapted to different ecosystems, constitute the main sheep flock (all thin-tailed): Sardi, Timahdite, Beni Guil, D’man, Boujaad and Blanche de Montagne.
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Based on historical information, the Moroccan sheep breeds are divided into three main populations. The first one is the Mountain population, previously known as Berber, i.e. the most ancient one in the country and constituted in part by the Blanche de Montagne breed. Many studies have shown that the Mountain sheep populations in Morocco are characterized by specific phenotypic traits and a good adaptation to their environment, which suggests a unique genetic diversity.
The second population is formed by breeds reared in the Eastern and Western Plateaus of the country. The Eastern Plateaus are mainly populated by the Beni Guil breed, while the Western ones are occupied by the Sardi breed, previously known as the "Beni Meskine type”, and the Boujaad breed or the ex “Tadla type”. Sagne hypothesized that this population derived from the Mountain population with animals of increased size at low altitudes, while the original small Berber stock remains in the mountains.
The third population includes the breeds found on the Atlantic coast, mainly represented by the Beni Ahsen population, now nearly extinct. Concerning the Timahdite breed, Boujenane and Ait Bihi proposed that it results from crossbreeding between the “Tadla type” and the Mountain population.
Besides these old historical considerations, it can be hypothesized that the mountains themselves have shaped the genetic structure of the sheep breeds. On the one hand, the High Atlas is a long chain that separates the Northern and Southern populations with few passes. On the other hand, the Middle Atlas constitutes another barrier that isolates the Western and Eastern populations.
Map of Morocco showing the sampling locations of the studied sheep breeds
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Specific Breed Characteristics
Mountain Breeds
These breeds include Mohad, Tounfite, Ait Hadiddou, Siroua, Guigou, Imin'Tanout, Ouaouizart, etc. They are generally fine-boned animals with well-muscled thighs and a dressing percentage ranging from 48 to 50.
D'Man Breed
The D'Man is not a range sheep. It is characterized by the absence of horns in both male and female. The D'Man offers the possibility of achieving two lambings per ewe per year. The weight of the D'Man is estimated to be in the order of 30-35 kg.
Tadla Breed
The Tadla breed is found on the plateau of Kasba Tadla and Oued Zem. Its fleece has less kemp. The influence of the Tadla breed becomes less important in crosses.
Sardi Breed
The Sardi breed evolved west of the Tadla, in the region of El Brouj. It is known for the high quality of its meat, with young rams weighing only 30-35 kg.
Beni Ahsen Breed
The Beni Ahsen breed is found in the Doukkala-Abda region in the south and the Beni Ahsen in the north. The neck sometimes carries wattles. In particular, the Beni Ahsen in the rich area of Gharb, are decreasing in numbers as purebreds.
Tounsint Breed
The Tounsint breed, found in Outat El Haj, Guercif, and Midelt, is derived by crossing Tounsint and Berber types of the upper Moulouya valley.
Table 4.4 provides a comparison of wool characteristics among different breeds, while Table 4.6 shows characteristics of the Tadla breed.
Historical Efforts in Sheep Breed Improvement
Moroccan sheep at the beginning of 1919 generated considerable interest. An experimental station was created at Ain Djemaa, south of Casablanca. Documentation on work, already done, and finance were in short supply.
ANOC and Breed Standardization
ANOC (Association Nationale Ovine et Caprine) aims to open a Flock Book per breed and establish a testing programme.
Genetic Diversity and Conservation
The local sheep breeds in Morocco constitute an important reservoir of genetic diversity, and play a crucial economic and social role for the rural populations. They are well adapted to different agro-ecological zones over the whole country, and enhance fodder resources that are rather marginal in terms of quality as well as by-products of crop production.
Experimental Data
The 191 sequences analyzed correspond to GenBank accession numbers MN229085 to MN229277 and represent the six main sheep breeds in Morocco: Sardi, Timahdite, Beni Guil, D’man, Boujaad and Blanche de Montagne. The mean number of individuals per breed was 32, ranging from 27 (D’man) to 37 (Timahdite). Between 13 and 17 flocks per breed were investigated.
Genetic diversity indices were calculated using the DNAsp software. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC), implemented in the adegenet package R was applied to a mtDNA dataset, to examine the genetic structure of the populations and to assess the degree to which breeds differ from each other when considering prior information on breeds.
Tables
| Breed 1 | Breed 2 | FST Value |
|---|---|---|
| Beni Guil | D’man | Low |
| Beni Guil | Sardi | Low |
| Boujaad | D’man | High |
The lowest and highest degrees of differentiation were retrieved in the Beni Guil and Boujaad breeds, respectively. According to pairwise FST estimates, most breed pairs showed low to moderate genetic differentiation. Most of the FST values were significant and the highest FST value was observed between the Boujaad and D’man breeds, while the lowest FST values (non-significant) were observed between the Beni Guil and Sardi and between the Beni Guil and D’man breeds.
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