Multivariate Analysis Identifies Eight Novel Loci Associated with Meat Productivity Traits in Sheep.

Alexander S Zlobin,Vugar A Bagirov,Pavel M Borodin,Pavel S Nikulin,Natalia A Zinovieva,Yakov A Tsepilov,Baylar S Iolchiev,Tatiana I Aksenovich,Natalia A Volkova

doi:10.3390/genes12030367

Abstract

Despite their economic value, sheep remain relatively poorly studied animals in terms of the number of known loci and genes associated with commercially important traits. This gap in our knowledge can be filled in by performing new genome-wide association studies (GWAS) or by re-analyzing previously documented data using novel powerful statistical methods. This study is focused on the search for new loci associated with meat productivity and carcass traits in sheep. With a multivariate approach applied to publicly available GWAS results, we identified eight novel loci associated with the meat productivity and carcass traits in sheep. Using an in silico follow-up approach, we prioritized 13 genes in these loci. One of eight novel loci near the FAM3C and WNT16 genes has been replicated in an independent sample of Russian sheep populations (N = 108). The novel loci were added to our regularly updated database increasing the number of known loci to more than 140.

Highlights

We previously developed a comprehensive database of QTLs associated with growth and meat traits in sheep based on the available published Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and gene-candidate studies [3]
The results of the Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analysis for three multivariate traits are presented in Table 1
We found nine loci significantly associated with mass and mass of different parts (MMass) and three loci significantly associated with multivariate trait that incorporates fat-related traits (MFat) (p-value < 3.38× 10−8 )

Summary

Introduction

Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes that affect growth rate, carcass, and meat productivity traits is a prerequisite for the marker-assisted selection of these traits [2]. We previously developed a comprehensive database of QTLs associated with growth and meat traits in sheep based on the available published GWAS and gene-candidate studies [3]. It is regularly updated with newly discovered loci, but only a few of them have been confirmed in independent studies or validated over the past seven years. Good quality annotation data are required for further development of this database as a necessary and important data source for modern selection practices in sheep

Methods

Results

Conclusion