Cancer Genetics and Comparative Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77840, USA.
Nat Commun. 2019 Apr 2;10(1):1489. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09373-w.
Domestic dog breeds are characterized by an unrivaled diversity of morphologic traits and breed-associated behaviors resulting from human selective pressures. To identify the genetic underpinnings of such traits, we analyze 722 canine whole genome sequences (WGS), documenting over 91 million single nucleotide and small indels, creating a large catalog of genomic variation for a companion animal species. We undertake both selective sweep analyses and genome wide association studies (GWAS) inclusive of over 144 modern breeds, 54 wild canids and a hundred village dogs. Our results identify variants of strong impact associated with 16 phenotypes, including body weight variation which, when combined with existing data, explain greater than 90% of body size variation in dogs. We thus demonstrate that GWAS and selection scans performed with WGS are powerful complementary methods for expanding the utility of companion animal systems for the study of mammalian growth and biology.
家犬品种的形态特征和品种相关行为具有无与伦比的多样性，这是人类选择压力的结果。为了确定这些特征的遗传基础，我们分析了 722 条犬的全基因组序列（WGS），记录了超过 9100 万个单核苷酸和小插入缺失，为伴侣动物物种创建了一个大型基因组变异目录。我们进行了选择性清除分析和全基因组关联研究（GWAS），包括 144 个现代品种、54 个野生犬科动物和 100 个乡村犬。我们的研究结果确定了 16 个表型的强影响变体，包括体重变化，当与现有数据相结合时，可解释犬类体型变化的 90%以上。因此，我们证明了使用 WGS 进行 GWAS 和选择扫描是扩展伴侣动物系统用于研究哺乳动物生长和生物学的强大互补方法。
