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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Anim. Sci.

Sec. Animal Breeding and Genetics

This article is part of the Research TopicEvolution of Short Genomic Regions: Discoveries, Methods, and ChallengesView all 5 articles

Comparative assessment of interindividual variability of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes in Saiga tatarica tatarica

Provisionally accepted
Vadim UlyanovVadim Ulyanov1Indira BeishovaIndira Beishova1*Kirill YaninKirill Yanin2Tatyana UlyanovaTatyana Ulyanova1Nurbek GinayatovNurbek Ginayatov1Alexandr KovalchukAlexandr Kovalchuk1Alzhan ShamshidinAlzhan Shamshidin1Kaissar KushaliyevKaissar Kushaliyev1Zhumadiya TleulenovZhumadiya Tleulenov3Aibek KarimovAibek Karimov2,4
  • 1Testing Center, Agrarian-Technical University, Oral, Kazakhstan
  • 2Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • 3Scientific and Production Center for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Astana, Kazakhstan
  • 4Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

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This study employs a combined k-mer based comparative genomics and mitochondrial genome analysis to investigate genetic variation in S.t. tatarica. Whole genome sequencing data were used to assess genomic diversity, revealing significant variation between samples, with 25.55–28.49% of k-mers being sample-specific. Mitochondrial genome sequencing identified 531 variants. These variants were predominantly variants of the ND6, ND2, ND5, and COX1 genes. The results demonstrated that the distribution of genetic variants within the mitochondrial genome of S.t. tatarica is heterogeneous, with certain regions exhibiting high variability, whereas others remain conserved. This pattern reflects differing levels of functional significance among genes and provides a foundation for subsequent investigations into adaptive processes and the long-term stability of the species. The data obtained are of great importance for the development of conservation strategies for saiga populations, aimed at maintaining the species' genetic diversity and adaptive potential.

Keywords: Kazakhstan, k-mer analysis, Mitochondrial Genome, Saiga antelope, whole genome sequencing

Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Ulyanov, Beishova, Yanin, Ulyanova, Ginayatov, Kovalchuk, Shamshidin, Kushaliyev, Tleulenov and Karimov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Indira Beishova

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material