Zhang Linyun, Zhao Shengnan, Yu Houmo, Duan Yixin, Zhang Jipan, Xu Naiyi, Zhao Yongju
College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Herbivore Science, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Forage & Herbivore, Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Herbivores Resource Protection and Utilization, Chongqing Herbivore Engineering Research Center, Chongqing 400715, China.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jun 23;15(13):1849. doi: 10.3390/ani15131849.
The local goat breeds of Chongqing represent the typical goat populations of Southwestern China and play a significant role in global goat research. However, studies on these goats remain limited. Chongqing goats exhibit diverse coat colors, a crucial economic trait essential for individual and breed identification. In this study, we performed genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of Chongqing goats to identify candidate genes associated with coat color. The results of the GWAS revealed that the , and genes on chromosome 13 are significantly associated with coat color variation in Chongqing goats. Furthermore, haplotype analysis, gene function annotation, and pathway analysis enrichment further confirmed that a significant region on chromosome 13 is associated with coat color in local Chongqing goats, and that and are related to black coat color, whereas is potentially associated with white coat expression. Additionally, we also identified as being associated with coat color in goats, which has hardly been reported. The newly identified genes expand our understanding of the complex genetic architecture underlying pigmentation traits in livestock. Our study identifies the genes related to coat color in local goats, which enriches the genetic resource pool of goats and contributes to a deeper understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying coat color in these breeds.
重庆本地山羊品种代表了中国西南地区典型的山羊群体，在全球山羊研究中发挥着重要作用。然而，对这些山羊的研究仍然有限。重庆山羊表现出多种毛色，这是个体和品种鉴定所必需的关键经济性状。在本研究中，我们对重庆山羊进行了全基因组关联分析（GWAS），以鉴定与毛色相关的候选基因。GWAS结果显示，13号染色体上的 、 和 基因与重庆山羊的毛色变异显著相关。此外，单倍型分析、基因功能注释和通路分析富集进一步证实，13号染色体上的一个显著区域与重庆本地山羊的毛色相关，并且 和 与黑色被毛有关，而 可能与白色被毛表达有关。此外，我们还鉴定出 与山羊毛色相关，这几乎未见报道。新鉴定出的基因扩展了我们对家畜色素沉着性状复杂遗传结构的理解。我们的研究鉴定了本地山羊中与毛色相关的基因，丰富了山羊的遗传资源库，并有助于更深入地了解这些品种毛色的遗传机制。
