Department of Animal Science, University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 31587-11167, Iran.
Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Genes (Basel). 2021 Mar 17;12(3):433. doi: 10.3390/genes12030433.
Gotland sheep, a breed native to Gotland, Sweden (an island in the Baltic Sea), split from the Gute sheep breed approximately 100 years ago, and since, has probably been crossed with other breeds. This breed has recently gained popularity, due to its pelt quality. This study estimates the shared ancestors and identifies recent selection signatures in Gotland sheep using 600 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data. Admixture analysis shows that the Gotland sheep is a distinct breed, but also has shared ancestral genomic components with Gute (50%), Karakul (30%), Romanov (20%), and Fjällnäs (10%) sheep breeds. Two complementary methods were applied to detect selection signatures: A Bayesian population differentiation F and an integrated haplotype homozygosity score (iHS). Our results find that seven significant SNPs (-value < 0.05) using the F analysis and 55 significant SNPs (-value < 0.0001) using the iHS analysis. Of the candidate genes that contain significant markers, or are in proximity to them, we identify several belongings to the keratin genes, , , , , , , , , , and . These genes are involved in wool quality, polled and horned phenotypes, fertility, twining rate, meat quality, and growth traits. In summary, our results provide shared founders of Gotland sheep and insight into genomic regions maintained under selection after the breed was formed. These results contribute to the detection of candidate genes and QTLs underlying economic traits in sheep.
哥得兰绵羊，原产于瑞典哥特兰岛（波罗的海的一个岛屿）的一个品种，大约在 100 年前与古特羊品种分离，此后可能与其他品种杂交。由于其皮毛质量，这种绵羊最近变得很受欢迎。本研究使用 600 K 个单核苷酸多态性 (SNP) 基因型数据来估计哥得兰绵羊的共同祖先，并确定其最近的选择特征。混合分析表明，哥得兰绵羊是一个独特的品种，但也与古特羊（约 50%）、卡拉库尔羊（约 30%）、罗曼诺夫羊（约 20%）和法尔奈斯羊（约 10%）共享祖先基因组成分。应用两种互补方法检测选择特征：贝叶斯种群分化 F 分析和整合单倍型纯合性得分（iHS）分析。我们的结果发现，使用 F 分析有 7 个显著 SNP（-值<0.05），使用 iHS 分析有 55 个显著 SNP（-值<0.0001）。在包含显著标记或靠近它们的候选基因中，我们鉴定出几个与角蛋白基因有关的基因，如、、、、、、、、、和。这些基因参与羊毛质量、无角和有角表型、繁殖力、扭曲率、肉质和生长性状。总之，我们的结果提供了哥得兰绵羊的共同祖先，并深入了解了该品种形成后选择保留的基因组区域。这些结果有助于检测绵羊经济性状的候选基因和 QTL。
