The Origin of Indonesian Cattle and Conservation Genetics of the Bali Cattle Breed

Abstract

Both Bos indicus (zebu) and Bos javanicus (banteng) contribute to the Indonesian indigenous livestock, which is supposedly of a mixed species origin, not by direct breeding but by secondary cross-breeding. Here, the analysis of mitochondrial, Y-chromosomal and microsatellite DNA showed banteng introgression of 10–16% in Indonesian zebu breeds with East-Javanese Madura and Galekan cattle having higher levels of autosomal banteng introgression (20–30%) and combine a zebu paternal lineage with a predominant (Madura) or even complete (Galekan) maternal banteng origin. Two Madura bulls carried taurine Y-chromosomal haplotypes, presumably of French Limousin origin. There was no evidence for zebu introgression in five populations of the Bali cattle, a domestic form of the banteng.