Genome-wide analysis of the world's sheep breeds reveals high levels of historic mixture and strong recent selection.

Kijas, James W; Lenstra, Johannes A; Hayes, Ben; Boitard, Simon; Porto Neto, Laercio R; San Cristobal, Magali; Servin, Bertrand; McCulloch, Russell; Whan, Vicki; Gietzen, Kimberly; Paiva, Samuel; Barendse, William; Ciani, Elena; Raadsma, Herman; McEwan, John; Dalrymple, Brian; Drögemüller, Cord (2012). Genome-wide analysis of the world's sheep breeds reveals high levels of historic mixture and strong recent selection. PLoS biology, 10(2), pp. 1-14. Public Library of Science 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001258

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Through their domestication and subsequent selection, sheep have been adapted to thrive in a diverse range of environments. To characterise the genetic consequence of both domestication and selection, we genotyped 49,034 SNP in 2,819 animals from a diverse collection of 74 sheep breeds. We find the majority of sheep populations contain high SNP diversity and have retained an effective population size much higher than most cattle or dog breeds, suggesting domestication occurred from a broad genetic base. Extensive haplotype sharing and generally low divergence time between breeds reveal frequent genetic exchange has occurred during the development of modern breeds. A scan of the genome for selection signals revealed 31 regions containing genes for coat pigmentation, skeletal morphology, body size, growth, and reproduction. We demonstrate the strongest selection signal has occurred in response to breeding for the absence of horns. The high density map of genetic variability provides an in-depth view of the genetic history for this important livestock species.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Institute of Genetics
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)

UniBE Contributor:

Drögemüller, Cord

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

1544-9173

Publisher:

Public Library of Science

Language:

English

Submitter:

Cord Drögemüller

Date Deposited:

26 Aug 2020 10:29

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:40

Publisher DOI:

10.1371/journal.pbio.1001258

PubMed ID:

22346734

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.146068

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/146068

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