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Gmel AI, Mikko S, Ricard A, Velie BD, Gerber V, Hamilton NA, Neuditschko M. Using high-density SNP data to unravel the origin of the Franches-Montagnes horse breed. Genet Sel Evol 2024; 56:53. [PMID: 38987703 PMCID: PMC11238448 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-024-00922-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Franches-Montagnes (FM) is the last native horse breed of Switzerland, established at the end of the 19th century by cross-breeding local mares with Anglo-Norman stallions. We collected high-density SNP genotype data (Axiom™ 670 K Equine genotyping array) from 522 FM horses, including 44 old-type horses (OF), 514 European Warmblood horses (WB) from Sweden and Switzerland (including a stallion used for cross-breeding in 1990), 136 purebred Arabians (AR), 32 Shagya Arabians (SA), and 64 Thoroughbred (TB) horses, as introgressed WB stallions showed TB origin in their pedigrees. The aim of the study was to ascertain fine-scale population structures of the FM breed, including estimation of individual admixture levels and genomic inbreeding (FROH) by means of Runs of Homozygosity. RESULTS To assess fine-scale population structures within the FM breed, we applied a three-step approach, which combined admixture, genetic contribution, and FROH of individuals into a high-resolution network visualization. Based on this approach, we were able to demonstrate that population substructures, as detected by model-based clustering, can be either associated with a different genetic origin or with the progeny of most influential sires. Within the FM breed, admixed horses explained most of the genetic variance of the current breeding population, while OF horses only accounted for a small proportion of the variance. Furthermore, we illustrated that FM horses showed high TB admixture levels and we identified inconsistencies in the origin of FM horses descending from the Arabian stallion Doktryner. With the exception of WB, FM horses were less inbred compared to the other breeds. However, the relatively few but long ROH segments suggested diversity loss in both FM subpopulations. Genes located in FM- and OF-specific ROH islands had known functions involved in conformation and behaviour, two traits that are highly valued by breeders. CONCLUSIONS The FM remains the last native Swiss breed, clearly distinguishable from other historically introgressed breeds, but it suffered bottlenecks due to intensive selection of stallions, restrictive mating choices based on arbitrary definitions of pure breeding, and selection of rare coat colours. To preserve the genetic diversity of FM horses, future conservation managements strategies should involve a well-balanced selection of stallions (e.g., by integrating OF stallions in the FM breeding population) and avoid selection for rare coat colours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annik Imogen Gmel
- Animal GenoPhenomics, Agroscope, Route de la Tioleyre 4, 1725, Posieux, Switzerland
- Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, 8053, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sofia Mikko
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7023, 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anne Ricard
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine de Vilvert, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Brandon D Velie
- Equine Genetics and Genomics Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, RMC Gunn B19-603, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Vinzenz Gerber
- Institut Suisse de Médecine Equine ISME, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 124, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Natasha Anne Hamilton
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Markus Neuditschko
- Animal GenoPhenomics, Agroscope, Route de la Tioleyre 4, 1725, Posieux, Switzerland.
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Arefnejad B, Zeinalabedini M, Talebi R, Mardi M, Ghaffari MR, Vahidi MF, Nekouei MK, Szmatoła T, Salekdeh GH. Unveiling the population genetic structure of Iranian horses breeds by whole-genome resequencing analysis. Mamm Genome 2024; 35:201-227. [PMID: 38520527 DOI: 10.1007/s00335-024-10035-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Preserving genetic diversity is pivotal for enhancing genetic improvement and facilitating adaptive responses to selection. This study focuses on identifying key genetic variants, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertion/deletion polymorphisms (INDELs), and copy number variants (CNVs), while exploring the genomic evolutionary connectedness among seven Iranian horses representing five indigenous breeds: Caspian, Turkemen, DareShuri, Kurdish, and Asil. Using whole-genome resequencing, we generated 2.7 Gb of sequence data, with raw reads ranging from 1.2 Gb for Caspian horses to 0.38 Gb for Turkoman horses. Post-filtering, approximately 1.9 Gb of reads remained, with ~ 1.5 Gb successfully mapped to the horse reference genome (EquCab3.0), achieving mapping rates between 76.4% (Caspian) and 98.35% (Turkoman). We identified 2,909,816 SNPs in Caspian horses, constituting around 0.1% of the genome. Notably, 71% of these SNPs were situated in intergenic regions, while 8.5 and 6.8% were located upstream and downstream, respectively. A comparative analysis of SNPs between Iranian and non-Iranian horse breeds showed that Caspian horses had the lowest number of shared SNPs with Turkoman horses. Instead, they showed a closer genetic relationship with DareShuri, Quarter, Arabian, Standardbred, and Asil breeds. Hierarchical clustering highlighted Caspian horses as a distinct cluster, underscoring their distinctive genomic signature. Caspian horses exhibit a unique genetic profile marked by an enrichment of private mutations in neurological genes, influencing sensory perception and awareness. This distinct genetic makeup shapes mating preferences and signifies a separate evolutionary trajectory. Additionally, significant non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in reproductive genes offer intervention opportunities for managing Caspian horses. These findings reveal the population genetic structure of Iranian horse breeds, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in areas such as conservation, performance traits, climate adaptation, reproduction, and resistance to diseases in equine science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babak Arefnejad
- Department of Animal Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
| | - Mehrshad Zeinalabedini
- Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
| | - Reza Talebi
- Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Mohsen Mardi
- Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Ghaffari
- Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | - Mohammad Farhad Vahidi
- Department of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
| | | | - Tomasz Szmatoła
- Centre of Experimental and Innovative Medicine, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059, Kraków, Poland
- Department of Animal Molecular Biology, National Research Institute of Animal Production, Krakowska 1, 32‑083, Balice, Poland
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Chessari G, Criscione A, Marletta D, Crepaldi P, Portolano B, Manunza A, Cesarani A, Biscarini F, Mastrangelo S. Characterization of heterozygosity-rich regions in Italian and worldwide goat breeds. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3. [PMID: 38168531 PMCID: PMC10762050 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49125-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Heterozygosity-rich regions (HRR) are genomic regions of high heterozygosity, which may harbor loci related to key functional traits such as immune response, survival rate, fertility, and other fitness traits. This study considered 30 Italian and 19 worldwide goat breeds genotyped with the Illumina GoatSNP50k BeadChip. The aim of the work was to study inter-breed relationships and HRR patterns using Sliding Window (SW) and Consecutive Runs (CR) detection methods. Genetic relationships highlighted a clear separation between non-European and European breeds, as well as the north-south geographic cline within the latter. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the descriptive HRR parameters obtained with the SW and CR methods were higher than 0.9. A total of 166 HRR islands were detected. CHI1, CHI11, CHI12 and CHI18 were the chromosomes harboring the highest number of HRR islands. The genes annotated in the islands were linked to various factors such as productive, reproductive, immune, and environmental adaptation mechanisms. Notably, the Montecristo feral goat showed the highest number of HRR islands despite the high level of inbreeding, underlining potential balancing selection events characterizing its evolutionary history. Identifying a species-specific HRR pattern could provide a clearer view of the mechanisms regulating the genome modelling following anthropogenic selection combined with environmental interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Chessari
- Dipartimento Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Andrea Criscione
- Dipartimento Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania, Italy.
| | - Donata Marletta
- Dipartimento Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123, Catania, Italy
| | - Paola Crepaldi
- Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia, University of Milan, Via Giovanni Celoria 2, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Baldassare Portolano
- Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy
| | - Arianna Manunza
- CNR, Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology (IBBA), Via Bassini 15, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Cesarani
- Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari, Viale Italia 39, 07100, Sassari, Italy
- Animal and Dairy Science Department, University of Georgia, 425 River Road, 30602, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Filippo Biscarini
- CNR, Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology (IBBA), Via Bassini 15, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Salvatore Mastrangelo
- Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128, Palermo, Italy
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Novo I, Ordás P, Moraga N, Santiago E, Quesada H, Caballero A. Impact of population structure in the estimation of recent historical effective population size by the software GONE. Genet Sel Evol 2023; 55:86. [PMID: 38049712 PMCID: PMC10694967 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-023-00859-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Effective population size (Ne) is a crucial parameter in conservation genetics and animal breeding. A recent method, implemented by the software GONE, has been shown to be rather accurate in estimating recent historical changes in Ne from a single sample of individuals. However, GONE estimations assume that the population being studied has remained isolated for a period of time, that is, without migration or confluence of other populations. If this occurs, the estimates of Ne can be heavily biased. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of migration and admixture on the estimates of historical Ne provided by GONE through a series of computer simulations considering several scenarios: (a) the mixture of two or more ancestral populations; (b) subpopulations that continuously exchange individuals through migration; (c) populations receiving migrants from a large source; and (d) populations with balanced systems of chromosomal inversions, which also generate genetic structure. RESULTS Our results indicate that the estimates of historical Ne provided by GONE may be substantially biased when there has been a recent mixture of populations that were previously separated for a long period of time. Similarly, biases may occur when the rate of continued migration between populations is low, or when chromosomal inversions are present at high frequencies. However, some biases due to population structuring can be eliminated by conducting population structure analyses and restricting the estimation to the differentiated groups. In addition, disregarding the genomic regions that are involved in inversions can also remove biases in the estimates of Ne. CONCLUSIONS Different kinds of deviations from isolation and panmixia of the populations can generate biases in the recent historical estimates of Ne. Therefore, estimation of past demography could benefit from performing population structure analyses beforehand, by mitigating the impact of these biases on historical Ne estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Novo
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, 36310, Vigo, Spain.
| | - Pilar Ordás
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, 36310, Vigo, Spain
| | - Natalia Moraga
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, 36310, Vigo, Spain
| | - Enrique Santiago
- Departamento de Biología Funcional, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Oviedo, 33006, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Humberto Quesada
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, 36310, Vigo, Spain
| | - Armando Caballero
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, 36310, Vigo, Spain
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Novo I, Pérez-Pereira N, Santiago E, Quesada H, Caballero A. An empirical test of the estimation of historical effective population size using Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Ecol Resour 2023; 23:1632-1640. [PMID: 37455584 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
The availability of a large number of high-density markers (SNPs) allows the estimation of historical effective population size (Ne ) from linkage disequilibrium between loci. A recent refinement of methods to estimate historical Ne from the recent past has been shown to be rather accurate with simulation data. The method has also been applied to real data for numerous species. However, the simulation data cannot encompass all the complexities of real genomes, and the performance of any estimation method with real data is always uncertain, as the true demography of the populations is not known. Here, we carried out an experimental design with Drosophila melanogaster to test the method with real data following a known demographic history. We used a population maintained in the laboratory with a constant census size of about 2800 individuals and subjected the population to a drastic decline to a size of 100 individuals. After a few generations, the population was expanded back to the previous size and after a few further generations again expanded to twice the initial size. Estimates of historical Ne were obtained with the software GONE both for autosomal and X chromosomes from samples of 17 individuals sequenced for the whole genome. Estimates of the historical effective size were able to infer the patterns of changes that occurred in the populations showing generally good performance of the method. We discuss the limitations of the method and the application of the software carried out so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Novo
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, Vigo, Spain
| | - Noelia Pérez-Pereira
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, Vigo, Spain
| | - Enrique Santiago
- Departamento de Biología Funcional, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Humberto Quesada
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, Vigo, Spain
| | - Armando Caballero
- Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Bioloxía, Vigo, Spain
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Capomaccio S, Ablondi M, Colombi D, Sartori C, Giontella A, Cappelli K, Mancin E, Asti V, Mantovani R, Sabbioni A, Silvestrelli M. Exploring the Italian equine gene pool via high-throughput genotyping. Front Genet 2023; 14:1099896. [PMID: 36755577 PMCID: PMC9900106 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1099896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The Italian peninsula is in the center of the Mediterranean area, and historically it has been a hub for numerous human populations, cultures, and also animal species that enriched the hosted biodiversity. Horses are no exception to this phenomenon, with the peculiarity that the gene pool has been impacted by warfare and subsequent "colonization". In this study, using a comprehensive dataset for almost the entire Italian equine population, in addition to the most influential cosmopolitan breeds, we describe the current status of the modern Italian gene pool. Materials and Methods: The Italian dataset comprised 1,308 individuals and 22 breeds genotyped at a 70 k density that was merged with publicly available data to facilitate comparison with the global equine diversity. After quality control and supervised subsampling to ensure consistency among breeds, the merged dataset with the global equine diversity contained data for 1,333 individuals from 54 populations. Multidimensional scaling, admixture, gene flow, and effective population size were analyzed. Results and Discussion: The results show that some of the native Italian breeds preserve distinct gene pools, potentially because of adaptation to the different geographical contexts of the peninsula. Nevertheless, the comparison with international breeds highlights the presence of strong gene flow from renowned breeds into several Italian breeds, probably due to historical introgression. Coldblood breeds with stronger genetic identity were indeed well differentiated from warmblood breeds, which are highly admixed. Other breeds showed further peculiarities due to their breeding history. Finally, we observed some breeds that exist more on cultural, traditional, and geographical point of view than due to actual genetic distinctiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Capomaccio
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Sport Horse Research Centre (CRCS), University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,*Correspondence: Stefano Capomaccio, ; Michela Ablondi,
| | - Michela Ablondi
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy,*Correspondence: Stefano Capomaccio, ; Michela Ablondi,
| | - Daniele Colombi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Department of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Cristina Sartori
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Andrea Giontella
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Sport Horse Research Centre (CRCS), University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Katia Cappelli
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Sport Horse Research Centre (CRCS), University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Enrico Mancin
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Vittoria Asti
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Roberto Mantovani
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Alberto Sabbioni
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Maurizio Silvestrelli
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy,Sport Horse Research Centre (CRCS), University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
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Cardinali I, Giontella A, Tommasi A, Silvestrelli M, Lancioni H. Unlocking Horse Y Chromosome Diversity. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13122272. [PMID: 36553539 PMCID: PMC9777570 DOI: 10.3390/genes13122272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The present equine genetic variation mirrors the deep influence of intensive breeding programs during the last 200 years. Here, we provide a comprehensive current state of knowledge on the trends and prospects on the variation in the equine male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY), which was assembled for the first time in 2018. In comparison with the other 12 mammalian species, horses are now the most represented, with 56 documented MSY genes. However, in contrast to the high variability in mitochondrial DNA observed in many horse breeds from different geographic areas, modern horse populations demonstrate extremely low genetic Y-chromosome diversity. The selective pressures employed by breeders using pedigree data (which are not always error-free) as a predictive tool represent the main cause of this lack of variation in the Y-chromosome. Nevertheless, the detailed phylogenies obtained by recent fine-scaled Y-chromosomal genotyping in many horse breeds worldwide have contributed to addressing the genealogical, forensic, and population questions leading to the reappraisal of the Y-chromosome as a powerful genetic marker to avoid the loss of biodiversity as a result of selective breeding practices, and to better understand the historical development of horse breeds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Cardinali
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
- Correspondence: (I.C.); (A.G.)
| | - Andrea Giontella
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy
- Correspondence: (I.C.); (A.G.)
| | - Anna Tommasi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology “L. Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Hovirag Lancioni
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
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