Identification of Candidate Genes Associated with Yak Body Size Using a Genome-Wide Association Study and Multiple Populations of Information
Xinrui Liu,
Mingxiu Wang,
Jie Qin,
Yaxin Liu,
Zhixin Chai,
Wei Peng,
Yixi Kangzhu,
Jincheng Zhong,
Jiabo Wang
Affiliations
Xinrui Liu
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Mingxiu Wang
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Jie Qin
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Yaxin Liu
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Zhixin Chai
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Wei Peng
Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
Yixi Kangzhu
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Jincheng Zhong
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Jiabo Wang
Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Sichuan Province, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Yaks have evolved several breeds or genetic resources owing to their geographical and ecological environment, and investigating the genetic construction of body size among breeds is key for breeding. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed for five body size traits in 31 yak breeds and genetic resources. The information from clustering individuals according to their habitats was used for kinship grouping in the compressed mixed linear model (CMLM). We named this approach the pCMLM method. A total of 3,584,464 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained, and six markers were found to be significantly associated with height by pCMLM. Four candidate genes, including FXYD6, SOHLH2, ADGRB2, and OSBPL6, were identified. Our results show that when CMLM cannot identify optimal clustering groups, pCMLM can provide sufficient associated results based on population information. Moreover, this study provides basic information on the gene localization of quantitative traits of body size among yak breeds.
