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Abstract
Genome-wide association studies allow identification of loci and polymorphisms associated with the formation of relevant phenotypes. When conducting a full genome analysis of sheep, particularly promising is the study of individuals with outstanding productivity indicators – exhibition animals, representatives of the super-elite class. The aim of this study was to identify new candidate genes for economically valuable traits based on the search for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with belonging to different evaluation classes in rams of the Russian meat merino breed. Animal genotyping was performed using Ovine Infinium HD BeadChip 600K DNA, association search was performed using PLINK v. 1.07 software. Highly reliable associations were found between animals belonging to different evaluation classes and the frequency of occurrence of individual SNPs on chromosomes 2, 6, 10, 13, and 20. Most of the substitutions with high association reliability are concentrated on chromosome 10 in the region 10: 30859297–31873769. To search for candidate genes, 15 polymorphisms with the highest association reliability were selected (–log10(р) > 9). Determining the location of the analyzed SNPs relative to the latest annotation Oar_rambouillet_v1.0 allowed to identify 11 candidate genes presumably associated with the formation of a complex of phenotypic traits of animals in the exhibition group: RXFP2, ALOX5AP, MEDAG, OPN5, PRDM5, PTPRT, TRNAS-GGA, EEF1A1, FRY, ZBTB21-like, and B3GLCT-like. The listed genes encode proteins involved in the control of the cell cycle and DNA replication, regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, the development of the inflammatory process and the work of circadian rhythms. Thus, the candidate genes under consideration can influence the formation of exterior features and productive qualities of sheep. However, further research is needed to confirm the influence of genes and determine the exact mechanisms for implementing this influence on the phenotype.
Highlights
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a modern and powerful tool for identifying loci and individual polymorphisms associated with economically important traits in various species of productive animals (Georges et al, 2019)
The purpose of this study was to identify new candidate genes for economically valuable traits based on the search for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with belonging to different grading classes in Russian meat merino breed
We propose the OPN5 gene as a candidate gene, since its intron contains the SNP rs414101315 with high reliability of associations
Summary
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a modern and powerful tool for identifying loci and individual polymorphisms associated with economically important traits in various species of productive animals (Georges et al, 2019). Loci associated with reproductive qualities (Abdoli et al, 2019), resistance to parasitic diseases (Yan et al, 2017), indicators of wool (Wang Z. et al, 2014), milk (Garcia-Gámez et al, 2012) and meat productivity (Rovadoscki et al, 2018; Zhang T. et al, 2019) were identified in the sheep genome using GWAS tools. Most of these studies identify associations with a specific performance trait characteristic of the breed under study. Identification of genetic markers of class opens up opportunities for genetic assessment, selection of highly productive animals and optimal selection of parental pairs capable of transferring their economically valuable characteristics to offspring
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