Sbardella Ana Paula, Watanabe Rafael Nakamura, da Costa Rebeka Magalhães, Bernardes Priscila Arrigucci, Braga Larissa Graciano, Baldi Rey Fernando Sebastián, Lôbo Raysildo Barbosa, Munari Danísio Prado
Departamento de Engenharia e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal 14884-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
CRIARIS Pecuária Inteligente, Goiânia 74780-712, Goiás, Brazil.
Animals (Basel). 2021 May 13;11(5):1386. doi: 10.3390/ani11051386.
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 , , , , and . 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.
鉴定与繁殖性状及其生物学过程相关的基因组区域，有助于更好地理解这些性状的表型变异性。这些信息可应用于动物育种计划，以加速遗传进展。本研究的目的是评估单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与365日龄阴囊周长（SC365）、450日龄阴囊周长（SC450）、作为犊牛性状的妊娠期长度（GL）、初产年龄（AFC）、累计生产力（ACP）、30月龄前小母牛早期产犊（HC30）和留种率（STAY）性状之间的关联，以便鉴定与内洛尔牛繁殖性状相关的候选基因和生物学途径。数据集包括来自“巴西全国养殖者与研究者协会”（ANCP）的内洛尔牛的系谱、表型和基因型。使用加权单步全基因组关联方法进行关联分析；由10个连续SNP组成的区域，若能解释超过0.5%的加性遗传方差，则被视为显著关联。分别有3、6、7、5、10、25和12个窗口与SC355、SC450、GL、AFC、ACP、HC30和STAY相关联。结果揭示了对繁殖性状具有重要功能的基因，如生育力和早熟性。一些基因与多个性状相关，其中包括 、 、 、 和 。此外，这些基因在功能术语上富集，如脂肪细胞分化的负调控、脂肪酸α-氧化和鞘脂信号通路。鉴定与这些性状相关的基因，以及在上述术语和途径中富集的基因，应有助于未来的生物学验证研究，并可用作内洛尔牛育种计划中的候选基因。
