Analysis on the desert adaptability of indigenous sheep in the southern edge of Taklimakan Desert

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The southern margin of the Taklimakan Desert is characterized by low rainfall, heavy sandstorms, sparse vegetation and harsh ecological environment. The indigenous sheep in this area are rich in resources, with the advantages of perennial estrus and good resistance to stress in most sheep. Exploring the molecular markers of livestock adaptability in this environment will provide the molecular basis for breeding research to cope with extreme future changes in the desert environment. In this study, we analyzed the population genetic structure and linkage imbalance of five sheep breeds with three different agricultural geographic characteristics using four complementary genomic selection signals: fixation index (FST), cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (xp-EHH), Rsb (extended haplotype homozygosity between-populations) and iHS (integrated haplotype homozygosity score). We used Illumina Ovine SNP 50K Genotyping BeadChip Array, and gene annotation and enrichment analysis were performed on selected regions of the obtained genome. The ovary of Qira Black sheep (Follicular phase, Luteal phase, 30th day of pregnancy, 45th day of pregnancy) was collected, and the differentially expressed genes were screened by transcriptomic sequencing. Genome-wide selective sweep results and transcriptome data were combined for association analysis to obtain candidate genes associated with perennial estrus and stable reproduction. In order to verify the significance of the results, 15 resulting genes were randomly selected for fluorescence quantitative analysis. The results showed that Dolang sheep and Qira Black sheep evolved from Kazak sheep. Linkage disequilibrium analysis showed that the decay rate of sheep breeds in the Taklimakan Desert was higher than that in Yili grassland. The signals of FST, xp-EHH, Rsb and iHS detected 526, 332, 308 and 408 genes, respectively, under the threshold of 1% and 17 overlapping genes under the threshold of 5%. A total of 29 genes were detected in association analysis of whole-genome and transcriptome data. This study reveals the genetic mechanism of perennial estrus and environmental adaptability of indigenous sheep breeds in the Taklimakan Desert. It provides a theoretical basis for the conservation and exploitation of genetic resources of indigenous sheep breeds in extreme desert environment. This provides a new perspective for the quick adaptation of sheep and other mammals to extreme environments and future climate changes.