INVESTIGATION OF BLOOD-GROUP POLYMORPHISM IN AUROCHS (BISON-BONASUS)

Polymorphism of nine blood group systems was studied in three reproduc tive lines of auroch (European bison Bison bonasus), Belovezhskaya, Ca ucasian-Belovezhskaya, and Gornaya. All blood group systems analyzed w ere polymorphic; 50 out of the 57 antigens tested were detected. The n umber of detected blood group antigens in aurochs is comparable to tha t in breeds of domestic cattle. However, intrapopulation diversity, es timated with the mu test, is significantly higher in cattle than in au rochs. The lowest mu values were observed in line Belovezhskaya, which was founded by a small number of animals and has a high level of inbr eeding. For the FV system, the amount by which heterozygotes exceeded the Hardy-Weinberg proportions was shown; this deviation was significa nt in all lines except Caucasian-Belovezhskaya. The excess of heterozy gotes may be due to population processes that prevent the loss of gene tic diversity in populations. The level of differentiation in the auro ch lines was low. Similarity coefficients between the lines were highe r than those between different stocks within a cattle breed.