1
|
Schneider H, Krizanac AM, Falker-Gieske C, Heise J, Tetens J, Thaller G, Bennewitz J. Genomic dissection of the correlation between milk yield and various health traits using functional and evolutionary information about imputed sequence variants of 34,497 German Holstein cows. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:265. [PMID: 38461236 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10115-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the last decades, it was subject of many studies to investigate the genomic connection of milk production and health traits in dairy cattle. Thereby, incorporating functional information in genomic analyses has been shown to improve the understanding of biological and molecular mechanisms shaping complex traits and the accuracies of genomic prediction, especially in small populations and across-breed settings. Still, little is known about the contribution of different functional and evolutionary genome partitioning subsets to milk production and dairy health. Thus, we performed a uni- and a bivariate analysis of milk yield (MY) and eight health traits using a set of ~34,497 German Holstein cows with 50K chip genotypes and ~17 million imputed sequence variants divided into 27 subsets depending on their functional and evolutionary annotation. In the bivariate analysis, eight trait-combinations were observed that contrasted MY with each health trait. Two genomic relationship matrices (GRM) were included, one consisting of the 50K chip variants and one consisting of each set of subset variants, to obtain subset heritabilities and genetic correlations. In addition, 50K chip heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated applying merely the 50K GRM. RESULTS In general, 50K chip heritabilities were larger than the subset heritabilities. The largest heritabilities were found for MY, which was 0.4358 for the 50K and 0.2757 for the subset heritabilities. Whereas all 50K genetic correlations were negative, subset genetic correlations were both, positive and negative (ranging from -0.9324 between MY and mastitis to 0.6662 between MY and digital dermatitis). The subsets containing variants which were annotated as noncoding related, splice sites, untranslated regions, metabolic quantitative trait loci, and young variants ranked highest in terms of their contribution to the traits` genetic variance. We were able to show that linkage disequilibrium between subset variants and adjacent variants did not cause these subsets` high effect. CONCLUSION Our results confirm the connection of milk production and health traits in dairy cattle via the animals` metabolic state. In addition, they highlight the potential of including functional information in genomic analyses, which helps to dissect the extent and direction of the observed traits` connection in more detail.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Helen Schneider
- Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Ana-Marija Krizanac
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Johannes Heise
- Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. (VIT), 27283, Verden, Germany
| | - Jens Tetens
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Georg Thaller
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, 24098, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jörn Bennewitz
- Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zegeye T, Belay G, Vallejo-Trujillo A, Han J, Hanotte O. Genome-wide diversity and admixture of five indigenous cattle populations from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Front Genet 2023; 14:1050365. [PMID: 37600659 PMCID: PMC10432725 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1050365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The Tigray region, where we found around eight per cent of the indigenous cattle population of Ethiopia, is considered as the historic centre of the country, with the ancient pre-Aksumite and Aksumite civilisations in contact with the civilisations of the Fertile Crescent and the Indian subcontinent. Here, we used whole genome sequencing data to characterise the genomic diversity, relatedness, and admixture of five cattle populations (Abergelle, Arado, Begait, Erob, and Raya) indigenous to the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We detected 28 to 29 million SNPs and 2.7 to 2.9 million indels in each population, of which 7% of SNPs and 34% of indels were novel. Functional annotation of the variants showed around 0.01% SNPs and 0.22%-0.27% indels in coding regions. Enrichment analysis of genes overlapping missense private SNPs revealed 20 significant GO terms and KEGG pathways that were shared by or specific to breeds. They included important genes associated with morphology (SCN4A, TAS1R2 and KCNG4), milk yield (GABRG1), meat quality (MMRN2, VWC2), feed efficiency (PCDH8 and SLC26A3), immune response (LAMC1, PCDH18, CELSR1, TLR6 and ITGA5), heat resistance (NPFFR1 and HTR7) and genes belonging to the olfactory gene family, which may be related to adaptation to harsh environments. Tigray indigenous cattle are very diverse. Their genome-wide average nucleotide diversity ranged from 0.0035 to 0.0036. The number of heterozygous SNPs was about 0.6-0.7 times higher than homozygous ones. The within-breed average number of ROHs ranged from 777.82 to 1000.45, with the average sum of the length of ROHs ranging from 122.01 Mbp to 163.88 Mbp. The genomic inbreeding coefficients differed among animals and breeds, reaching up to 10% in some Begait and Raya animals. Tigray indigenous cattle shared a common ancestry with Asian indicine (85.6%-88.7%) and African taurine (11.3%-14.1%) cattle, with very small, if any, European taurine introgression. This study identified high within-breed genetic diversity representing an opportunity for breeding improvement programs and, also, significant novel variants that could increase the number of known cattle variants, an important contribution to the knowledge of domestic cattle genetic diversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tsadkan Zegeye
- Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, Mekelle, Ethiopia
- Department of Microbial, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Live Gene—CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Gurja Belay
- Department of Microbial, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Adriana Vallejo-Trujillo
- Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jianlin Han
- Live Gene—CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
| | - Olivier Hanotte
- Live Gene—CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Cells, Organism and Molecular Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gutiérrez-Reinoso MA, Aponte PM, García-Herreros M. Genomic and Phenotypic Udder Evaluation for Dairy Cattle Selection: A Review. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13101588. [PMID: 37238017 DOI: 10.3390/ani13101588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The traditional point of view regarding dairy cattle selection has been challenged by recent genomic studies indicating that livestock productivity prediction can be redefined based on the evaluation of genomic and phenotypic data. Several studies that included different genomic-derived traits only indicated that interactions among them or even with conventional phenotypic evaluation criteria require further elucidation. Unfortunately, certain genomic and phenotypic-derived traits have been shown to be secondary factors influencing dairy production. Thus, these factors, as well as evaluation criteria, need to be defined. Owing to the variety of genomic and phenotypic udder-derived traits which may affect the modern dairy cow functionality and conformation, a definition of currently important traits in the broad sense is indicated. This is essential for cattle productivity and dairy sustainability. The main objective of the present review is to elucidate the possible relationships among genomic and phenotypic udder evaluation characteristics to define the most relevant traits related to selection for function and conformation in dairy cattle. This review aims to examine the potential impact of various udder-related evaluation criteria on dairy cattle productivity and explore how to mitigate the adverse effects of compromised udder conformation and functionality. Specifically, we will consider the implications for udder health, welfare, longevity, and production-derived traits. Subsequently, we will address several concerns covering the application of genomic and phenotypic evaluation criteria with emphasis on udder-related traits in dairy cattle selection as well as its evolution from origins to the present and future prospects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A Gutiérrez-Reinoso
- Carrera de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Técnica de Cotopaxi (UTC), Latacunga 0501491, Ecuador
- Laboratorio de Biotecnología Animal, Departamento de Ciencia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción (UdeC), Chillán 3780000, Chile
| | - Pedro M Aponte
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (COCIBA), Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito 170157, Ecuador
- Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito 170157, Ecuador
- Campus Cumbayá, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biomedicina "One-Health", Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito 170157, Ecuador
| | - Manuel García-Herreros
- Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), 2005-048 Santarém, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ribeiro G, Baldi F, Cesar ASM, Alexandre PA, Peripolli E, Ferraz JBS, Fukumasu H. Detection of potential functional variants based on systems-biology: the case of feed efficiency in beef cattle. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:774. [PMID: 36434498 PMCID: PMC9700932 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08958-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Potential functional variants (PFVs) can be defined as genetic variants responsible for a given phenotype. Ultimately, these are the best DNA markers for animal breeding and selection, especially for polygenic and complex phenotypes. Herein, we described the identification of PFVs for complex phenotypes (in this case, Feed Efficiency in beef cattle) using a systems-biology driven approach based on RNA-seq data from physiologically relevant organs. RESULTS The systems-biology coupled with deep molecular phenotyping by RNA-seq of liver, muscle, hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands of animals with high and low feed efficiency (FE) measured by residual feed intake (RFI) identified 2,000,936 uniquely variants. Among them, 9986 variants were significantly associated with FE and only 78 had a high impact on protein expression and were considered as PFVs. A set of 169 significant uniquely variants were expressed in all five organs, however, only 27 variants had a moderate impact and none of them a had high impact on protein expression. These results provide evidence of tissue-specific effects of high-impact PFVs. The PFVs were enriched (FDR < 0.05) for processing and presentation of MHC Class I and II mediated antigens, which are an important part of the adaptive immune response. The experimental validation of these PFVs was demonstrated by the increased prediction accuracy for RFI using the weighted G matrix (ssGBLUP+wG; Acc = 0.10 and b = 0.48) obtained in the ssGWAS in comparison to the unweighted G matrix (ssGBLUP; Acc = 0.29 and b = 1.10). CONCLUSION Here we identified PFVs for FE in beef cattle using a strategy based on systems-biology and deep molecular phenotyping. This approach has great potential to be used in genetic prediction programs, especially for polygenic phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Ribeiro
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Sao Paulo, 13635-900 Brazil
| | - Fernando Baldi
- grid.410543.70000 0001 2188 478XDepartment of Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Aline S. M. Cesar
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pâmela A. Alexandre
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Sao Paulo, 13635-900 Brazil ,CSIRO Agriculture & Food, 306 Carmody Rd., St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4067 Australia
| | - Elisa Peripolli
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Sao Paulo, 13635-900 Brazil ,grid.410543.70000 0001 2188 478XDepartment of Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José B. S. Ferraz
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Sao Paulo, 13635-900 Brazil
| | - Heidge Fukumasu
- grid.11899.380000 0004 1937 0722Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of Sao Paulo, Pirassununga, Sao Paulo, 13635-900 Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Narayana SG, de Jong E, Schenkel FS, Fonseca PA, Chud TC, Powel D, Wachoski-Dark G, Ronksley PE, Miglior F, Orsel K, Barkema HW. Underlying genetic architecture of resistance to mastitis in dairy cattle: A systematic review and gene prioritization analysis of genome-wide association studies. J Dairy Sci 2022; 106:323-351. [DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-21923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
|
6
|
Silva-Vignato B, Cesar ASM, Afonso J, Moreira GCM, Poleti MD, Petrini J, Garcia IS, Clemente LG, Mourão GB, Regitano LCDA, Coutinho LL. Integrative Analysis Between Genome-Wide Association Study and Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Reveals Bovine Muscle Gene Expression Regulatory Polymorphisms Associated With Intramuscular Fat and Backfat Thickness. Front Genet 2022; 13:935238. [PMID: 35991540 PMCID: PMC9386181 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.935238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the architecture of gene expression is fundamental to unravel the molecular mechanisms regulating complex traits in bovine, such as intramuscular fat content (IMF) and backfat thickness (BFT). These traits are economically important for the beef industry since they affect carcass and meat quality. Our main goal was to identify gene expression regulatory polymorphisms within genomic regions (QTL) associated with IMF and BFT in Nellore cattle. For that, we used RNA-Seq data from 193 Nellore steers to perform SNP calling analysis. Then, we combined the RNA-Seq SNP and a high-density SNP panel to obtain a new dataset for further genome-wide association analysis (GWAS), totaling 534,928 SNPs. GWAS was performed using the Bayes B model. Twenty-one relevant QTL were associated with our target traits. The expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis was performed using Matrix eQTL with the complete SNP dataset and 12,991 genes, revealing a total of 71,033 cis and 36,497 trans-eQTL (FDR < 0.05). Intersecting with QTL for IMF, we found 231 eQTL regulating the expression levels of 117 genes. Within those eQTL, three predicted deleterious SNPs were identified. We also identified 109 eQTL associated with BFT and affecting the expression of 54 genes. This study revealed genomic regions and regulatory SNPs associated with fat deposition in Nellore cattle. We highlight the transcription factors FOXP4, FOXO3, ZSCAN2, and EBF4, involved in lipid metabolism-related pathways. These results helped us to improve our knowledge about the genetic architecture behind important traits in cattle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Silva-Vignato
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Aline Silva Mello Cesar
- Department of Agroindustry, Food, and Nutrition, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | | | | | - Mirele Daiana Poleti
- College of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of São Paulo, Pirassununga, Brazil
| | - Juliana Petrini
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Ingrid Soares Garcia
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Luan Gaspar Clemente
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Gerson Barreto Mourão
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | | | - Luiz Lehmann Coutinho
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Luiz Lehmann Coutinho,
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Cai Z, Christensen OF, Lund MS, Ostersen T, Sahana G. Large-scale association study on daily weight gain in pigs reveals overlap of genetic factors for growth in humans. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:133. [PMID: 35168569 PMCID: PMC8845347 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08373-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Imputation from genotyping array to whole-genome sequence variants using resequencing of representative reference populations enhances our ability to map genetic factors affecting complex phenotypes in livestock species. The accumulation of knowledge about gene function in human and laboratory animals can provide substantial advantage for genomic research in livestock species. Results In this study, 201,388 pigs from three commercial Danish breeds genotyped with low to medium (8.5k to 70k) SNP arrays were imputed to whole genome sequence variants using a two-step approach. Both imputation steps achieved high accuracies, and in total this yielded 26,447,434 markers on 18 autosomes. The average estimated imputation accuracy of markers with minor allele frequency ≥ 0.05 was 0.94. To overcome the memory consumption of running genome-wide association study (GWAS) for each breed, we performed within-breed subpopulation GWAS then within-breed meta-analysis for average daily weight gain (ADG), followed by a multi-breed meta-analysis of GWAS summary statistics. We identified 15 quantitative trait loci (QTL). Our post-GWAS analysis strategy to prioritize of candidate genes including information like gene ontology, mammalian phenotype database, differential expression gene analysis of high and low feed efficiency pig and human GWAS catalog for height, obesity, and body mass index, we proposed MRAP2, LEPROT, PMAIP1, ENSSSCG00000036234, BMP2, ELFN1, LIG4 and FAM155A as the candidate genes with biological support for ADG in pigs. Conclusion Our post-GWAS analysis strategy helped to identify candidate genes not just by distance to the lead SNP but also by multiple sources of biological evidence. Besides, the identified QTL overlap with genes which are known for their association with human growth-related traits. The GWAS with this large data set showed the power to map the genetic factors associated with ADG in pigs and have added to our understanding of the genetics of growth across mammalian species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08373-3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zexi Cai
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830, Tjele, Denmark.
| | | | - Mogens Sandø Lund
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Tage Ostersen
- SEGES Danish Pig Research Centre, Agro Food Park 15, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Goutam Sahana
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830, Tjele, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Vanvanhossou SFU, Yin T, Scheper C, Fries R, Dossa LH, König S. Unraveling Admixture, Inbreeding, and Recent Selection Signatures in West African Indigenous Cattle Populations in Benin. Front Genet 2021; 12:657282. [PMID: 34956303 PMCID: PMC8694269 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.657282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Dwarf Lagune and the Savannah Somba cattle in Benin are typical representatives of the endangered West African indigenous Shorthorn taurine. The Lagune was previously exported to African and European countries and bred as Dahomey cattle, whereas the Somba contributed to the formation of two indigenous hybrids known as Borgou and Pabli cattle. These breeds are affected by demographic, economic, and environmental pressures in local production systems. Considering current and historical genomic data, we applied a formal test of admixture, estimated admixture proportions, and computed genomic inbreeding coefficients to characterize the five breeds. Subsequently, we unraveled the most recent selection signatures using the cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity approach, based on the current and historical genotypes. Results from principal component analyses and high proportion of Lagune ancestry confirm the Lagune origin of the European Dahomey cattle. Moreover, the Dahomey cattle displayed neither indicine nor European taurine (EUT) background, but they shared on average 40% of autozygosity from common ancestors, dated approximately eight generations ago. The Lagune cattle presented inbreeding coefficients larger than 0.13; however, the Somba and the hybrids (Borgou and Pabli) were less inbred (≤0.08). We detected evidence of admixture in the Somba and Lagune cattle, but they exhibited a similar African taurine (AFT) ancestral proportion (≥96%) to historical populations, respectively. A moderate and stable AFT ancestral proportion (62%) was also inferred for less admixed hybrid cattle including the Pabli. In contrast, the current Borgou samples displayed a lower AFT ancestral proportion (47%) than historical samples (63%). Irrespective of the admixture proportions, the hybrid populations displayed more selection signatures related to economic traits (reproduction, growth, and milk) than the taurine. In contrast, the taurine, especially the Somba, presented several regions known to be associated with adaptive traits (immunity and feed efficiency). The identified subregion of bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) class IIb (including DSB and BOLA-DYA) in Somba cattle is interestingly uncommon in other African breeds, suggesting further investigations to understand its association with specific adaptation to endemic diseases in Benin. Overall, our study provides deeper insights into recent evolutionary processes in the Beninese indigenous cattle and their aptitude for conservation and genetic improvement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tong Yin
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Carsten Scheper
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Ruedi Fries
- Chair of Animal Breeding, Technische Universität München, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Luc Hippolyte Dossa
- School of Science and Technics of Animal Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi, Benin
| | - Sven König
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Reynolds EGM, Neeley C, Lopdell TJ, Keehan M, Dittmer K, Harland CS, Couldrey C, Johnson TJJ, Tiplady K, Worth G, Walker M, Davis SR, Sherlock RG, Carnie K, Harris BL, Charlier C, Georges M, Spelman RJ, Garrick DJ, Littlejohn MD. Non-additive association analysis using proxy phenotypes identifies novel cattle syndromes. Nat Genet 2021; 53:949-954. [PMID: 34045765 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00872-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian species carry ~100 loss-of-function variants per individual1,2, where ~1-5 of these impact essential genes and cause embryonic lethality or severe disease when homozygous3. The functions of the remainder are more difficult to resolve, although the assumption is that these variants impact fitness in less manifest ways. Here we report one of the largest sequence-resolution screens of cattle to date, targeting discovery and validation of non-additive effects in 130,725 animals. We highlight six novel recessive loci with impacts generally exceeding the largest-effect variants identified from additive genome-wide association studies, presenting analogs of human diseases and hitherto-unrecognized disorders. These loci present compelling missense (PLCD4, MTRF1 and DPF2), premature stop (MUS81) and splice-disrupting (GALNT2 and FGD4) mutations, together explaining substantial proportions of inbreeding depression. These results demonstrate that the frequency distribution of deleterious alleles segregating in selected species can afford sufficient power to directly map novel disorders, presenting selection opportunities to minimize the incidence of genetic disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Chad S Harland
- Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | | | | | - Kathryn Tiplady
- Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.,Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Gemma Worth
- Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Mark Walker
- Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | | | | | - Katie Carnie
- Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | - Bevin L Harris
- Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand
| | | | | | | | | | - Mathew D Littlejohn
- Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. .,Livestock Improvement Corporation, Hamilton, New Zealand.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Cai Z, Sarup P, Ostersen T, Nielsen B, Fredholm M, Karlskov-Mortensen P, Sørensen P, Jensen J, Guldbrandtsen B, Lund MS, Christensen OF, Sahana G. Genomic diversity revealed by whole-genome sequencing in three Danish commercial pig breeds. J Anim Sci 2020; 98:5873883. [PMID: 32687196 DOI: 10.1093/jas/skaa229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Whole-genome sequencing of 217 animals from three Danish commercial pig breeds (Duroc, Landrace [LL], and Yorkshire [YY]) was performed. Twenty-six million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 8 million insertions or deletions (indels) were uncovered. Among the SNPs, 493,099 variants were located in coding sequences, and 29,430 were predicted to have a high functional impact such as gain or loss of stop codon. Using the whole-genome sequence dataset as the reference, the imputation accuracy for pigs genotyped with high-density SNP chips was examined. The overall average imputation accuracy for all biallelic variants (SNP and indel) was 0.69, while it was 0.83 for variants with minor allele frequency > 0.1. This study provides whole-genome reference data to impute SNP chip-genotyped animals for further studies to fine map quantitative trait loci as well as improving the prediction accuracy in genomic selection. Signatures of selection were identified both through analyses of fixation and differentiation to reveal selective sweeps that may have had prominent roles during breed development or subsequent divergent selection. However, the fixation indices did not indicate a strong divergence among these three breeds. In LL and YY, the integrated haplotype score identified genomic regions under recent selection. These regions contained genes for olfactory receptors and oxidoreductases. Olfactory receptor genes that might have played a major role in the domestication were previously reported to have been under selection in several species including cattle and swine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zexi Cai
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Pernille Sarup
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Tage Ostersen
- SEGES Danish Pig Research Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Merete Fredholm
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Peter Sørensen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Just Jensen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Bernt Guldbrandtsen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Mogens Sandø Lund
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Ole Fredslund Christensen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Goutam Sahana
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Omics Application in Animal Science-A Special Emphasis on Stress Response and Damaging Behaviour in Pigs. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11080920. [PMID: 32796712 PMCID: PMC7464449 DOI: 10.3390/genes11080920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing stress resilience of livestock is important for ethical and profitable meat and dairy production. Susceptibility to stress can entail damaging behaviours, a common problem in pig production. Breeding animals with increased stress resilience is difficult for various reasons. First, studies on neuroendocrine and behavioural stress responses in farm animals are scarce, as it is difficult to record adequate phenotypes under field conditions. Second, damaging behaviours and stress susceptibility are complex traits, and their biology is not yet well understood. Dissecting complex traits into biologically better defined, heritable and easily measurable proxy traits and developing biomarkers will facilitate recording these traits in large numbers. High-throughput molecular technologies (“omics”) study the entirety of molecules and their interactions in a single analysis step. They can help to decipher the contributions of different physiological systems and identify candidate molecules that are representative of different physiological pathways. Here, we provide a general overview of different omics approaches and we give examples of how these techniques could be applied to discover biomarkers. We discuss the genetic dissection of the stress response by different omics techniques and we provide examples and outline potential applications of omics tools to understand and prevent outbreaks of damaging behaviours.
Collapse
|
12
|
Wittenburg D, Bonk S, Doschoris M, Reyer H. Design of experiments for fine-mapping quantitative trait loci in livestock populations. BMC Genet 2020; 21:66. [PMID: 32600319 PMCID: PMC7324978 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-020-00871-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which capture a significant impact on a trait can be identified with genome-wide association studies. High linkage disequilibrium (LD) among SNPs makes it difficult to identify causative variants correctly. Thus, often target regions instead of single SNPs are reported. Sample size has not only a crucial impact on the precision of parameter estimates, it also ensures that a desired level of statistical power can be reached. We study the design of experiments for fine-mapping of signals of a quantitative trait locus in such a target region. METHODS A multi-locus model allows to identify causative variants simultaneously, to state their positions more precisely and to account for existing dependencies. Based on the commonly applied SNP-BLUP approach, we determine the z-score statistic for locally testing non-zero SNP effects and investigate its distribution under the alternative hypothesis. This quantity employs the theoretical instead of observed dependence between SNPs; it can be set up as a function of paternal and maternal LD for any given population structure. RESULTS We simulated multiple paternal half-sib families and considered a target region of 1 Mbp. A bimodal distribution of estimated sample size was observed, particularly if more than two causative variants were assumed. The median of estimates constituted the final proposal of optimal sample size; it was consistently less than sample size estimated from single-SNP investigation which was used as a baseline approach. The second mode pointed to inflated sample sizes and could be explained by blocks of varying linkage phases leading to negative correlations between SNPs. Optimal sample size increased almost linearly with number of signals to be identified but depended much stronger on the assumption on heritability. For instance, three times as many samples were required if heritability was 0.1 compared to 0.3. An R package is provided that comprises all required tools. CONCLUSIONS Our approach incorporates information about the population structure into the design of experiments. Compared to a conventional method, this leads to a reduced estimate of sample size enabling the resource-saving design of future experiments for fine-mapping of candidate variants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dörte Wittenburg
- Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Genetics and Biometry, Dummerstorf, 18196 Germany
| | - Sarah Bonk
- University Medicine Greifswald, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Greifswald, 17475 Germany
| | - Michael Doschoris
- Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Genetics and Biometry, Dummerstorf, 18196 Germany
| | - Henry Reyer
- Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Institute of Genome Biology, Dummerstorf, 18196 Germany
| |
Collapse
|