scholarly journals Genome-Wide Association Study Provides Insights into Important Genes for Reproductive Traits in Nelore Cattle

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1386
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Sbardella ◽  
Rafael Nakamura Watanabe ◽  
Rebeka Magalhães da Costa ◽  
Priscila Arrigucci Bernardes ◽  
Larissa Graciano Braga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Phenotypic Variability ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Nelore Cattle

The identification of genomic regions associated with reproductive traits as well as their biological processes allows a better understanding of the phenotypic variability of these traits. This information could be applied to animal breeding programs to accelerate genetic gain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with a scrotal circumference at 365 days of age (SC365) and at 450 days of age (SC450), gestation length (GL) as a calf trait, age at first calving (AFC), accumulated productivity (ACP), heifer early calving until 30 months (HC30), and stayability (STAY) traits, in order to identify candidate genes and biological pathways associated with reproductive traits in Nelore cattle. The data set consisted of pedigree, phenotypes, and genotypes of Nelore cattle from the “Associação Nacional de Criadores e Pesquisadores” (ANCP). The association analyses were performed using the Weighted Single-Step Genome-Wide Association method; the regions, consisting of 10 consecutive SNP, which explained more than 0.5% of additive genetic variance, were considered as a significant association. A total of 3, 6, 7, 5, 10, 25, and 12 windows were associated with SC355, SC450, GL, AFC, ACP, HC30, and STAY, respectively. The results revealed genes with important functions for reproductive traits, such as fertility and precocity. Some genes were associated with more than one trait, among them CAMK1D, TASP1, ACOXL, RAB11FIP5, and SFXN5. Moreover, the genes were enriched in functional terms, like negative regulation of fat cell differentiation, fatty acid alpha-oxidation, and sphingolipids signaling pathway. The identification of the genes associated with the traits, as well as genes enriched in the terms and pathway mentioned above, should contribute to future biological validation studies and may be used as candidate genes in Nelore breeding programs.

Genome-wide association analysis of resistance to Pseudoperonospora cubensis in citron watermelon

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Katuuramu ◽  
Sandra Branham ◽  
Amnon Levi ◽  
Patrick Wechter
Keyword(s):  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Phenotypic Variability ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Snp Markers ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Pseudoperonospora Cubensis ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

Cultivated sweet watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important vegetable crop for millions of people around the world. There are limited sources of resistance to economically important diseases within C. lanatus, whereas Citrullus amarus has a reservoir of traits that can be exploited to improve C. lanatus for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is an emerging threat to watermelon production. We screened 122 C. amarus accessions for resistance to CDM over two tests (environments). The accessions were genotyped by whole-genome resequencing to generate 2,126,759 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers. A genome-wide association study was deployed to uncover marker-trait associations and identify candidate genes underlying resistance to CDM. Our results indicate the presence of wide phenotypic variability (1.1 - 57.8%) for leaf area infection, representing a 50.7-fold variation for CDM resistance across the C. amarus germplasm collection. Broad-sense heritability estimate was 0.55, implying the presence of moderate genetic effects for resistance to CDM. The peak SNP markers associated with resistance to P. cubensis were located on chromosomes Ca03, Ca05, Ca07, and Ca11. The significant SNP markers accounted for up to 30% of the phenotypic variation and were associated with promising candidate genes encoding disease resistance proteins, leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinase, and WRKY transcription factor. This information will be useful in understanding the genetic architecture of the P. cubensis-Citrullus spp. patho-system as well as development of resources for genomics-assisted breeding for resistance to CDM in watermelon.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Association Study for Reproductive Traits in a Duroc Pig Population

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang ◽  
Chen ◽  
Ye ◽  
He ◽  
Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Study ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Litter Size ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Litter Weight ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

In the pig industry, reproductive traits constantly influence the production efficiency. To identify markers and candidate genes underlying porcine reproductive traits, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in a Duroc pig population. In total, 1067 pigs were genotyped using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips, and four reproductive traits, including litter size at birth (LSB), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW), and litter weight at weaning (LWW), were examined. The results showed that 20 potential SNPs reached the level of suggestive significance and were associated with these traits of interest. Several important candidate genes, including TXN2, KCNA1, ENSSSCG00000003546, ZDHHC18, MAP2K6, BICC1, FAM135B, EPHB2, SEMA4D, ST3GAL1, KCTD3, FAM110A, TMEM132D, TBX3, and FAM110A, were identified and might compose the underlying genetic architecture of porcine reproductive traits. These findings help to understand the genetic basis of porcine reproductive traits and provide important information for molecular breeding in pigs.

scholarly journals A Genome-Wide Association Analysis Reveals Epistatic Cancellation of Additive Genetic Variance for Root Length in Arabidopsis thaliana

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lachowiec ◽  
Xia Shen ◽  
Christine Queitsch ◽  
Örjan Carlborg
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Broad Sense ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Broad Sense Heritability ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Genome Wide

Efforts to identify loci underlying complex traits generally assume that most genetic variance is additive. Here, we examined the genetics of Arabidopsis thaliana root length and found that the narrow-sense heritability for this trait was statistically zero. This low additive genetic variance likely explains why no associations to root length could be found using standard additive-model-based genome-wide association (GWA) approaches. However, the broad-sense heritability for root length was significantly larger, and we therefore also performed an epistatic GWA analysis to map loci contributing to the epistatic genetic variance. This analysis revealed four interacting pairs involving seven chromosomal loci that passed a standard multiple-testing corrected significance threshold. Explorations of the genotype-phenotype maps for these pairs revealed that the detected epistasis cancelled out the additive genetic variance, explaining why these loci were not detected in the additive GWA analysis. Small population sizes, such as in our experiment, increase the risk of identifying false epistatic interactions due to testing for associations with very large numbers of multi-marker genotypes in few phenotyped individuals. Therefore, we estimated the false-positive risk using a new statistical approach that suggested half of the associated pairs to be true positive associations. Our experimental evaluation of candidate genes within the seven associated loci suggests that this estimate is conservative; we identified functional candidate genes that affected root development in four loci that were part of three of the pairs. In summary, statistical epistatic analyses were found to be indispensable for confirming known, and identifying several new, functional candidate genes for root length using a population of wild-collected A. thaliana accessions. We also illustrated how epistatic cancellation of the additive genetic variance resulted in an insignificant narrow-sense, but significant broad-sense heritability that could be dissected into the contributions of several individual loci using a combination of careful statistical epistatic analyses and functional genetic experiments.

scholarly journals Genome wide association analysis identifies genetic variants associated with reproductive variation across domestic dog breeds and uncovers links to domestication

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Baker Phillips ◽  
Samuel A. Smith ◽  
Maddison L. Johnson ◽  
Patrick Abbot ◽  
John A. Capra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cesarean Section ◽  
Litter Size ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Domestic Dog ◽  
Cesarean Section Rate ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Stillbirth Rate ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Genome Wide

AbstractThe diversity of eutherian reproductive strategies has led to variation in many traits, such as number of offspring, age of reproductive maturity, and gestation length. While reproductive trait variation has been extensively investigated and is well established in mammals, the genetic loci contributing to this variation remain largely unknown. The domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris is a powerful model for studies of the genetics of inherited disease due to its unique history of domestication. To gain insight into the genetic basis of reproductive traits across domestic dog breeds, we collected phenotypic data for four traits – cesarean section rate (n = 97 breeds), litter size (n = 60), stillbirth rate (n = 57), and gestation length (n = 23) – from primary literature and breeders’ handbooks. By matching our phenotypic data to genomic data from the Cornell Veterinary Biobank, we performed genome wide association analyses for these four reproductive traits, using body mass and kinship among breeds as co-variates. We identified 14 genome-wide significant associations between these traits and genetic loci, including variants near CACNA2D3 with gestation length, MSRB3 with litter size, SMOC2 with cesarean section rate, MITF with litter size and still birth rate, KRT71 with cesarean section rate, litter size, and stillbirth rate, and HTR2C with stillbirth rate. Some of these loci, such as CACNA2D3 and MSRB3, have been previously implicated in human reproductive pathologies. Many of the variants that we identified have been previously associated with domestication-related traits, including brachycephaly (SMOC2), coat color (MITF), coat curl (KRT71), and tameness (HTR2C). These results raise the hypothesis that the artificial selection that gave rise to dog breeds also shaped the observed variation in their reproductive traits. Overall, our work establishes the domestic dog as a system for studying the genetics of reproductive biology and disease.

PSXI-4 Genome-Wide association study for muscle visual score in Nellore cattle raised in pasture-based systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 246-246
Author(s):  
Victor B Pedrosa ◽  
Pamela Machado ◽  
Rafaela Martins ◽  
Marcio Silva ◽  
Luis Fernando Pinto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Study ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Zebu Cattle ◽  
Visual Score ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Nellore Cattle

Abstract Visual scoring traits have been proposed as an alternative to evaluate body composition of Zebu cattle near the slaughter season when phenotyping technologies are not available. Considering the increased demand for high-quality animal protein in developing countries, there is a need to genetically improve body muscle (MUSC) in Zebu cattle (Bos taurus indicus), especially in animals raised in pasture-based systems. Therefore, our main objectives were to estimate genetic parameters, perform a genome-wide association study based on the single-step GBLUP approach (ssGWAS), and identify candidate genes and metabolic pathways related to MUSC in Nellore cattle. A total of 20,808 Nellore animals born between 2009 and 2018 were visually score at 18 months of age and 2,775 of these animals were also genotyped using the GGP-Indicus 35K SNP panel (33,247 SNPs after quality control). Heritability was estimated based on the REML approach and the model included the effects of age at measurement as covariable and the contemporary group (farm, birth season, management group and sex). The ssGWAS was performed using the BLUPF90 family programs. The identification of candidate genes was performed through the Ensembl database incorporated in the BioMart tool. MUSC is heritable (0.38) and can be improved through selection. Nineteen genomic regions (explaining 38.12% of the total additive genetic variance) located on BTA1, BTA7, BTA9, BTA16, and BTA21 and harboring 19 candidate genes were identified. The main genes identified were SEMA6A, TIAM2, UNC5A, and UIMC1, which are related to the metabolism of energy, growth, homeostasis and axonogenesis, and therefore, muscle development. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms over the gene expression of muscle visual score in Nellore cattle, and the polymorphisms located in these genes can be incorporated in commercial genotyping platforms to improve the accuracy of imputation and genomic evaluations for body and carcass traits.

scholarly journals Genome-wide association study using haplotype alleles for the evaluation of reproductive traits in Nelore cattle

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. e0201876 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Vieira do Nascimento ◽  
Ândrea Renata da Silva Romero ◽  
Yuri Tani Utsunomiya ◽  
Adam Taiti Harth Utsunomiya ◽  
Diercles Francisco Cardoso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Study ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Nelore Cattle

scholarly journals REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS SELECTION IN NELORE BEEF CATTLE

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heverton Luis Moreira ◽  
Marcos Eli Buzanskas ◽  
Danisio Prado Munari ◽  
Érika Breda Canova ◽  
Raysildo Barbosa Lôbo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Selection Criterion ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Productive Efficiency ◽  
Gestation Length ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Scrotal Circumference ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Nelore Cattle

Genetic breeding programs of beef cattle in Brazil are including new features, mainly related to reproductive efficiency.Thus, it is necessary to study the effectiveness of selection and quantify genetic gain for these traits in herds. This study estimated genetic and phenotypic parameters and genetic trends for reproductive traits used in breeding programs for Nelore beef cattle. The traits studied were the scrotal circumference (SC) at 365 and 450 days of age (SC365 and SC450), age at first calving (AFC) and gestation length, as a cow trait (GLcow) and a calf trait (GLcalf). The (co)variance components were obtained with the Restricted Maximum Likelihood Methodology in a single and double-trait analysis of the animal model. For scrotal circumference (SC365 and SC450), positive and favorable genetic gains were observed. For AFC, GLcow and GLcalf, the trends were favorable for selection, but without significant genetic gain. Selection for large SC may reduce AFC and improve female reproductive efficiency. The selection for reproductive traits (SC365, SC450, AFC and GL) may improve reproductive and productive efficiency of Nelore cattle, if used as a selection criterion.

scholarly journals Genome-wide association analysis reveals new insights into the genetic architecture of defensive, agro-morphological and quality-related traits in cassava

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Yusuf Rabbi ◽  
Siraj Ismail Kayondo ◽  
Guillaume Bauchet ◽  
Muyideen Yusuf ◽  
Cynthia Idhigu Aghogho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Carotenoid Content ◽  
Cassava Mosaic Disease ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

AbstractCassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the most important starchy root crops in the tropics due to its adaptation to marginal environments. Genetic progress in this clonally propagated crop can be accelerated through the discovery of markers and candidate genes that could be used in cassava breeding programs. We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a panel of 5,310 clones developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture - Nigeria. The population was genotyped at more than 100,000 SNP markers via genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Genomic regions underlying genetic variation for 14 traits classified broadly into four categories: biotic stress (cassava mosaic disease and cassava green mite severity); quality (dry matter content and carotenoid content) and plant agronomy (harvest index and plant type). We also included several agro-morphological traits related to leaves, stems and roots with high heritability. In total, 41 significant associations were uncovered. While some of the identified loci matched with those previously reported, we present additional association signals for the traits. We provide a catalogue of favourable alleles at the most significant SNP for each trait-locus combination and candidate genes occurring within the GWAS hits. These resources provide a foundation for the development of markers that could be used in cassava breeding programs and candidate genes for functional validation.

scholarly journals Single-Step Genome Wide Association Study Identifies QTL Signals for Untrimmed and Trimmed Thigh Weight in Italian Crossbred Pigs for Dry-Cured Ham Production

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1612
Author(s):  
Valentino Palombo ◽  
Mariasilvia D’Andrea ◽  
Danilo Licastro ◽  
Simeone Dal Monego ◽  
Sandy Sgorlon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Carcass Traits ◽  
Single Step ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Chromosome 1 ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Dry Cured Ham ◽  
Heritability Estimation

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) dry-cured ham is the most important product in the Italian pig breeding industry, mainly oriented to produce heavy pig carcasses to obtain hams of the right weight and maturity. Recently, along with the traditional traits swine breeding programs have aimed to include novel carcass traits. The identification at the genome level of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting such new traits helps to reveal their genetic determinism and may provide information to be integrated in prediction models in order to improve prediction accuracy as well as to identify candidate genes underlying such traits. This study aimed to estimate genetic parameters and perform a single step genome wide association studies (ssGWAS) on novel carcass traits such as untrimmed (UTW) and trimmed thigh weight (TTW) in two pig crossbred lines approved for the ham production of the Italian PDO. With this purpose, phenotypes were collected from ~1800 animals and 240 pigs were genotyped with Illumina PorcineSNP60 Beadchip. The single-step genomic BLUP procedure was used for the heritability estimation and to implement the ssGWAS. QTL were characterized based on the variance of 10-SNP sliding window genomic estimated breeding values. Moderate heritabilities were detected and QTL signals were identified on chromosome 1, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 15 for both traits. As expected, the genetic correlation among the two traits was very high (~0.99). The QTL regions encompassed a total of 249 unique candidate genes, some of which were already reported in association with growth, carcass or ham weight traits in pigs. Although independent studies are required to further verify our findings and disentangle the possible effects of specific linkage disequilibrium in our population, our results support the potential use of such new QTL information in future breeding programs to improve the reliability of genomic prediction.

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Association Study of Root System Development at Seedling Stage in Rice

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1395
Author(s):  
Hongjia Zhang ◽  
Mar Lar San ◽  
Seong-Gyu Jang ◽  
Ja-Hong Lee ◽  
Na-Eun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Study ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Root Development ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Germplasm Collection ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Matrix Analysis ◽  
Root Weight ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Genome Wide

Root network structure plays a crucial role in growth and development processes in rice. Longer, more branched root structures help plants to assimilate water and nutrition from soil, support robust plant growth, and improve resilience to stresses such as disease. Understanding the molecular basis of root development through screening of root-related traits in rice germplasms is critical to future rice breeding programs. This study used a small germplasm collection of 137 rice varieties chosen from the Korean rice core set (KRICE_CORE) to identify loci linked to root development. Two million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used as the genotype, with maximum root length (MRL) and total root weight (TRW) in seedlings used as the phenotype. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) combined with Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Kinship matrix analysis identified four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosomes 3, 6, and 8. Two QTLs were linked to MRL and two were related to TRW. Analysis of Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) decay identified a 230 kb exploratory range for detection of candidate root-related genes. Candidates were filtered using RNA-seq data, gene annotations, and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and five previously characterized genes related to root development were identified, as well as four novel candidate genes. Promoter analysis of candidate genes showed that LOC_Os03g08880 and LOC_Os06g13060 contained SNPs with the potential to impact gene expression in root-related promoter motifs. Haplotype analysis of candidate genes revealed diverse haplotypes that were significantly associated with phenotypic variation. Taken together, these results indicate that LOC_Os03g08880 and LOC_Os06g13060 are strong candidate genes for root development functions. The significant haplotypes identified in this study will be beneficial in future breeding programs for root improvement.

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