The geographical center of species diversity for sheep (Ovis aries) lies around several regions of Iraq and Iran. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the genetic relationships among these domesticated breeds and their maternal ancestors. This study was conducted to assess the mitochondrial D-loop genetic diversity in three breeds of Iraqi/Iranian prolific sheep, exhibiting clear differences in their geographical distributions and phenotypic traits. Five different SSCP-banding patterns were identified in Arabi, while only four distinct patterns were observed in both Karakul and Awassi sheep. One haplotype each in Karakul and Awassi was shared with Arabi. Sequencing reactions confirmed these patterns and validated the presence of 11 haplotypes and 16 variations distributed among studied populations. Arabi exhibited the maximum haplotype diversity, while Awassi exhibited the highest diversity of nucleotide polymorphism. The fixation index among populations showed a high sharing of genetic material among the investigated populations. The observed similar haplotypes showed the highest proportions in Arabi and Karakul and near the highest proportions in Awassi. In conclusion, higher nucleic acid variations were observed in the investigated Arabi and Awassi breeds than in the Karakul breed, signifying a potential role for D-loop-based genotyping in these differences in the three investigated ovine breeds.

绵羊（Ovis aries）物种多样性的地理中心。）位于伊拉克和伊朗的多个地区。因此，有必要探索这些驯化品种与其母系祖先之间的遗传关系。这项研究旨在评估三种伊拉克/伊朗多产绵羊品种的线粒体D环遗传多样性，它们在地理分布和表型特征上表现出明显差异。在阿拉比，发现了五种不同的SSCP带模式，而在Karakul和Awassi羊中仅观察到四种不同的模式。Karakul和Awassi分别与Arabi共享一种单倍型。测序反应证实了这些模式，并验证了在研究人群中分布的11种单倍型和16种变异的存在。阿拉比展示了最大的单体型多样性，而Awassi表现出最高的核苷酸多态性多样性。种群之间的固定指数表明，在所调查的种群中遗传物质的共享很高。观察到的相似单倍型在Arabi和Karakul中显示最高比例，在Awassi中接近最高比例。总之，在被调查的Arabi和Awassi品种中观察到的核酸变异高于在Karakul品种中，这表明在三个被调查的绵羊品种的这些差异中，基于D环的基因分型可能具有潜在作用。