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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1540523
This article is part of the Research Topic From Genes to Traits: Understanding Phenotypic Variation in Livestock View all articles

Whole-genome resequencing revealed the genetic diversity and body weight-related genes of Gannan yak

Provisionally accepted
Minghao Zhang Minghao Zhang 1Chun Huang Chun Huang 1Qi Bao Qi Bao 2Tong Wang Tong Wang 1Xiaoming Ma Xiaoming Ma 1Guangyao Meng Guangyao Meng 1Xuelan Zhou Xuelan Zhou 1Qingbo Zheng Qingbo Zheng 1Min Chu Min Chu 1Laing Chunnian Laing Chunnian 1Xian GUO Xian GUO 1Pengjia Bao Pengjia Bao 1*Ping Yan Ping Yan 1*
  • 1 Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
  • 2 Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Body weight (BW) is a crucial indicator of animal growth and development, significantly influencing animal husbandry practices. Previous research has identified several genes associated with BW in certain yak breeds. However, the genetic basis of BW in Gannan yaks has not been reported. In this study, 309 yaks from six breeds across five provinces in China were sampled. This collection included 247 54-month-old female Gannan yaks, along with 20 Xizang yaks, 15 Muli yaks, 10 Pamir yaks, 9 Bazhou yaks, and 8 Zhongdian yaks. Body weight measurements were recorded for the Gannan yaks. Initial analyses of runs of homozygosity (ROH), nucleotide diversity, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay among the six yak breeds revealed that Gannan yaks exhibited the lowest ROH, the highest nucleotide diversity, and the fastest LD decay, indicating rich genetic diversity. Subsequently, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 19 BW-related genes in the Gannan yaks, with PMAIP1, GABBR1, LRPPRC, and PPP1R11 identified as key genes. Genome-wide scanning of Group1 and Group2 (detailed in Section 2.4) identified 90 genes, and gene ontology (GO) analysis highlighted FGF2, SHH, and WNT11 as significantly associated with growth, development, and metabolism. Three overlapping genes were identified between GWAS and genome-wide scans. Further analyses, including nucleotide diversity, LD analysis of significant GWAS sites, allele frequency analysis, and SNP association studies, suggested that DRC1 and SELENOI are novel candidate genes for BW in Gannan yaks. These findings provide a molecular foundation for the genetic improvement of Gannan yaks.

    Keywords: Gannan yak, Body Weight, genetic diversity, Genome-Wide Association Study, genome-wide scanning

    Received: 05 Dec 2024; Accepted: 21 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Huang, Bao, Wang, Ma, Meng, Zhou, Zheng, Chu, Chunnian, GUO, Bao and Yan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Pengjia Bao, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
    Ping Yan, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China

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