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Ahbara AM, Musa HH, Robert C, Abebe A, Al-Jumaili AS, Kebede A, Latairish S, Agoub MO, Clark E, Hanotte O, Mwacharo JM. Natural adaptation and human selection of northeast African sheep genomes. Genomics 2022; 114:110448. [PMID: 35964803 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
African sheep manifest diverse but distinct physio-anatomical traits, which are the outcomes of natural- and human-driven selection. Here, we generated 34.8 million variants from 150 indigenous northeast African sheep genomes sequenced at an average depth of ∼54× for 130 samples (Ethiopia, Libya) and ∼20× for 20 samples (Sudan). These represented sheep from diverse environments, tail morphology and post-Neolithic introductions to Africa. Phylogenetic and model-based admixture analysis provided evidence of four genetic groups corresponding to altitudinal geographic origins, tail morphotypes and possible historical introduction and dispersal of the species into and across the continent. Running admixture at higher levels of K (6 ≤ K ≤ 25), revealed cryptic levels of genome intermixing as well as distinct genetic backgrounds in some populations. Comparative genomic analysis identified targets of selection that spanned conserved haplotype structures overlapping clusters of genes and gene families. These were related to hypoxia responses, ear morphology, caudal vertebrae and tail skeleton length, and tail fat-depot structures. Our findings provide novel insights underpinning morphological variation and response to human-driven selection and environmental adaptation in African indigenous sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abulgasim M Ahbara
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Misurata University, Misurata, Libya; School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK; Small Ruminant Genomics, International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; LiveGene, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Animal and Veterinary Sciences, SRUC, The Roslin Institute Building, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Hassan H Musa
- Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Christelle Robert
- Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ayele Abebe
- Debre Berhan Research Centre, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia
| | - Ahmed S Al-Jumaili
- Department of Medical Laboratory Techniques, Al-Maarif University College, Ramadi, Anbar, Iraq
| | - Adebabay Kebede
- LiveGene-CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
| | - Suliman Latairish
- Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Misurata University, Misurata, Libya
| | | | - Emily Clark
- Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK
| | - Olivier Hanotte
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK; LiveGene-CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Joram M Mwacharo
- Small Ruminant Genomics, International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Animal and Veterinary Sciences, SRUC, The Roslin Institute Building, Midlothian, Edinburgh, UK; Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK.
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The Generation R Study: Biobank update 2015. Eur J Epidemiol 2014; 29:911-27. [PMID: 25527369 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-014-9980-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2014] [Accepted: 12/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The Generation R Study is a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until adulthood. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes and causal pathways leading to normal and abnormal growth, development and health from fetal life, childhood and young adulthood. In total, 9,778 mothers were enrolled in the study. Data collection in children and their parents include questionnaires, interviews, detailed physical and ultrasound examinations, behavioural observations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and biological samples. Efforts have been conducted for collecting biological samples including blood, hair, faeces, nasal swabs, saliva and urine samples and generating genomics data on DNA, RNA and microbiome. In this paper, we give an update of the collection, processing and storage of these biological samples and available measures. Together with detailed phenotype measurements, these biological samples provide a unique resource for epidemiological studies focused on environmental exposures, genetic and genomic determinants and their interactions in relation to growth, health and development from fetal life onwards.
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