Abstract
Gotland sheep, a breed native to Gotland, Sweden (an island in the Baltic Sea), split from the Gute sheep breed approximately 100 years ago, and since, has probably been crossed with other breeds. This breed has recently gained popularity, due to its pelt quality. This study estimates the shared ancestors and identifies recent selection signatures in Gotland sheep using 600 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data. Admixture analysis shows that the Gotland sheep is a distinct breed, but also has shared ancestral genomic components with Gute (~50%), Karakul (~30%), Romanov (~20%), and Fjällnäs (~10%) sheep breeds. Two complementary methods were applied to detect selection signatures: A Bayesian population differentiation FST and an integrated haplotype homozygosity score (iHS). Our results find that seven significant SNPs (q-value < 0.05) using the FST analysis and 55 significant SNPs (p-value < 0.0001) using the iHS analysis. Of the candidate genes that contain significant markers, or are in proximity to them, we identify several belongings to the keratin genes, RXFP2, ADCY1, ENOX1, USF2, COX7A1, ARHGAP28, CRYBB2, CAPNS1, FMO3, and GREB1. These genes are involved in wool quality, polled and horned phenotypes, fertility, twining rate, meat quality, and growth traits. In summary, our results provide shared founders of Gotland sheep and insight into genomic regions maintained under selection after the breed was formed. These results contribute to the detection of candidate genes and QTLs underlying economic traits in sheep.
Highlights
IntroductionGotland sheep are a Swedish breed prized for their pelts that are uniformly grey in color with curly fleece
They belong to the North European short-tailed sheep type, sheep breeds that are characterized in part by their short tails and are found in Northern Europe from Russia to Iceland [2]
The first two Principal Component (PC) illustrated the intermediate position of Gotland sheep individuals in relation to the other breeds, i.e., Gute on one side, and Karakul, Romanov, and Fjällnäs sheep on the other side
Summary
Gotland sheep are a Swedish breed prized for their pelts that are uniformly grey in color with curly fleece. Gotland sheep are native to Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic. Sea [1,2]. They belong to the North European short-tailed sheep type, sheep breeds that are characterized in part by their short tails and are found in Northern Europe from Russia to Iceland [2]. Gotland sheep separated over a hundred years ago from Gute sheep, a local
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