AUTHOR=Xu Song-Song , Gao Lei , Shen Min , Lyu Fenghua 

TITLE=Whole-Genome Selective Scans Detect Genes Associated With Important Phenotypic Traits in Sheep (Ovis aries)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.738879

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.738879

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Sheep (<italic>Ovis aries</italic>) is one of the important livestock with diverse phenotypic traits. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of diverse phenotypic traits in domestic sheep. Using the genome-wide high-density SNP data (600K) in 253 samples from 13 populations, we conducted the tests of selective sweeps (i.e., pairwise <italic>F</italic><sub>ST</sub> and XP-CLR) associated with several important phenotypic traits (e.g., tail types, horn morphology, prolificacy, coat pigmentation, ear size, milk production, meat production, body size and wool fineness). We identified strong selective signatures in previously reported (e.g., <italic>T</italic>, <italic>RXFP2</italic>, <italic>BMPR1B</italic>, <italic>TYRP1</italic>, <italic>MSRB3</italic>, <italic>TF</italic>, <italic>CEBPA</italic>, <italic>GPR21</italic> and <italic>HOXC8</italic>) and novel genes associated with the traits, such as <italic>CERS6</italic>, <italic>BTG1</italic>, <italic>RYR3</italic>, <italic>SLC6A4</italic>, <italic>NNAT</italic> and <italic>OGT</italic> for fat deposition in the tails, <italic>FOXO4</italic> for fertility, <italic>PTCH1</italic> and <italic>EMX2</italic> for ear size, and <italic>RMI1</italic> and <italic>SCD5</italic> for body size. Further gene annotation analysis showed that these genes were identified to be the most probable genes accounting for the diverse phenotypic traits. Our results provide novel insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying the traits and also new genetic markers for genetic improvement in sheep and other livestock.</p>