Genome-wide associations with longevity and reproductive traits in U.S. rangeland ewes.

Autor:	Smitchger JA; Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States., Taylor JB; USDA, Agriculture Research Service, Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research Unit, U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Dubois, ID, United States., Mousel MR; Animal Diseases Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA, United States., Schaub D; Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States., Thorne JW; Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States.; Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension, San Angelo, TX, United States., Becker GM; Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States., Murdoch BM; Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Frontiers in genetics [Front Genet] 2024 May 27; Vol. 15, pp. 1398123. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 27 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.3389/fgene.2024.1398123
Abstrakt:	Introduction: Improving ewe longevity is an important breeding and management goal, as death loss and early culling of mature ewes are economic burdens in the sheep industry. Ewe longevity can be improved by selecting for positive reproductive outcomes. However, the breeding approaches for accomplishing this come with the challenge of recording a lifetime trait. Characterizing genetic factors underpinning ewe longevity and related traits could result in the development of genomic selection strategies to improve the stayability of sheep through early, informed selection of replacement ewes. Methods: Towards this aim, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genetic markers associated with ewe longevity, reproductive, and production traits. Traits evaluated included longevity (i.e., length of time in the flock), parity and the lifetime number of lambs born, lambs born alive, lambs weaned, and weight of lambs weaned. Ewe records from previous studies were used. Specifically, Rambouillet (n = 480), Polypay (n = 404), Suffolk (n = 182), and Columbia (n = 64) breed ewes (N = 1,130) were analyzed against 503,617 SNPs in across-breed and within-breed GWAS conducted with the Bayesian-information and Linkage-disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway (BLINK) model in R. Results: The across-breed GWAS identified 25 significant SNPs and the within-breed GWAS for Rambouillet, Polypay, and Suffolk ewes identified an additional 19 significant SNPs. The most significant markers were rs411309094 (13:22,467,143) associated with longevity in across-breed GWAS ( p -value = 8.3E-13) and rs429525276 (2:148,398,336) associated with both longevity ( p -value = 6.4E-15) and parity ( p -value = 4.8E-15) in Rambouillet GWAS. Significant SNPs were identified within or in proximity (±50 kb) of genes with known or proposed roles in reproduction, dentition, and the immune system. These genes include ALPL, ANOS1, ARHGEF26, ASIC2, ASTN2, ATP8A2, CAMK2D, CEP89, DISC1, ITGB6, KCNH8, MBNL3, MINDY4, MTSS1, PLEKHA7, PRIM2, RNF43, ROBO2, SLCO1A2, TMEM266, TNFRSF21, and ZNF804B . Discussion: This study proposes multiple SNPs as candidates for use in selection indices and suggests genes for further research towards improving understanding of the genetic factors contributing to longevity, reproductive, and production traits of ewes. Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. (Copyright © 2024 Smitchger, Taylor, Mousel, Schaub, Thorne, Becker and Murdoch.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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