Molecular genetic analysis of a cattle population to reconstitute the extinct Algarvia breed.

Background: Decisions to initiate conservation programmes need to account for extant variability, diversity loss and cultural and economic aspects. Molecular markers were used to investigate if putative Algarvia animals could be identified for use as progenitors in a breeding programme to recover this nearly extinct breed.

Methods: 46 individuals phenotypically representative of Algarvia cattle were genotyped for 27 microsatellite loci and compared with 11 Portuguese autochthonous and three imported breeds.