The use of molecular markers to study the genetic identity of the Kelb tal-Fenek

Abstract

The Kelb tal-Fenek (KF) is Malta’s national dog, esteemed for rabbit hunting. Some scholars suggest that it descended from the Ancient Egyptian Tesem, mainly due to its morphological resemblance to the Tesem depictions on paintings and artefacts. There are a lot of theories regarding the origin of the Kelb tal-Fenek, however these are just assumptions based on resemblance and myths.

The Cirneco dell’Etna (CI) is another Mediterranean breed from Sicily, an island which is of close proximity to Malta. This breed is very similar phenotypically to the Kelb tal-Fenek and at first glance it is easy to assume that the two breeds are genetically closely related. The genetic diversities and relationship within and among these two dog breeds, including the potential origin from a common ancestor were investigated.

This study was carried out by sequencing a part of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) displacement loop (D-loop) region using 620bp and analysing 18 microsatellite markers. A total of 57 unrelated animals were sampled, 32 samples of KF, and 25 of CI.

The results indicate that among the two breeds studied, KF showed the lowest level of diversity whilst the CI possesses a more variable gene pool. In addition to this, substantial variability among the two breeds was found to be present confirming that the breeds are genetically distant from each other. However, this does not exclude that they may share a common ancestor.