A comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and environmental adaptability in worldwide Merino and Merino‑derived sheep breeds

• Autores: Ceccobelli, Simone; Landi, Vincenzo; Senczuk, Gabriele; Mastrangelo, Salvatore; Sardina, Maria Teresa; Ben‑Jemaa, Slim; Persichilli, Christian; Karsli, Taki; Balteanu, Valentin‑Adrian; Raschia, Maria Agustina; Poli, Mario Andres; Ciappesoni, Gabriel; Muchadeyi, Farai Catherine; Dzomba, Edgar Farai; Kunene, Nokuthula Winfred; Lühken, Gesine; Deniskova, Tatiana Evgenievna; Dotsev, Arsen Vladimirovich; Zinovieva, Natalia Anatolievna; Zsolnai, Attila; Anton, István; Kusza, Szilvia; Carolino, Nuno; Santos‑Silva, Fátima; Kawęcka, Aldona; Swiatek, Marcin; Niżnikowski, Roman; Spehar, Marija; Anaya, Gabriel; Granero, Antonio; Perloiro, Tiago; Cardoso, Pedro; Grande, Silverio; López de los Santos, Beatriz; Danchin‑Burge, Coralie; Pasquini, Marina; Martínez Martínez, Amparo; Delgado Bermejo, Juan Vicente; Lasagna, Emiliano; Ciani, Elena; Sarti, Francesca Maria; Pilla, Fabio
• Año de publicación: 2023
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Genetics Selection Evolution 55 : 24 (Abril 2023)
• Materia: Genetic Diversity (as resource); Adaptability; Sheep Breeds; Phylogenetics; Candidate Genes; Diversidad Genética (como recurso); Adaptabilidad; Razas de Ovinos; Filogenética; Genes Candidatos; Raza Merino
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Background: To enhance and extend the knowledge about the global historical and phylogenetic relationships between Merino and Merino-derived breeds, 19 populations were genotyped with the OvineSNP50 BeadChip specifically for this study, while an additional 23 populations from the publicly available genotypes were retrieved. Three complementary statistical tests, Rsb (extended haplotype homozygosity between-populations), XP-EHH (cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity), and runs of homozygosity (ROH) islands were applied to identify genomic variants with potential impact on the adaptability of Merino genetic type in two contrasting climate zones. Results: The results indicate that a large part of the Merino’s genetic relatedness and admixture patterns are explained by their genetic background and/or geographic origin, followed by local admixture. Multi-dimensional scaling, Neighbor-Net, Admixture, and TREEMIX analyses consistently provided evidence of the role of Australian, Rambouillet and German strains in the extensive gene introgression into the other Merino and Merino-derived breeds. The close relationship between Iberian Merinos and other South-western European breeds is consistent with the Iberian origin of the Merino genetic type, with traces from previous contributions of other Mediterranean stocks. Using Rsb and XP-EHH approaches, signatures of selection were detected spanning four genomic regions located on Ovis aries chromosomes (OAR) 1, 6 and 16, whereas two genomic regions on OAR6, that partially overlapped with the previous ones, were highlighted by ROH islands. Overall, the three approaches identified 106 candidate genes putatively under selection. Among them, genes related to immune response were identified via the gene interaction network. In addition, several candidate genes were found, such as LEKR1, LCORL, GHR, RBPJ, BMPR1B, PPARGC1A, and PRKAA1, related to morphological, growth and reproductive traits, adaptive thermogenesis, and hypoxia responses. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive dataset that includes most of the Merino and Merino-derived sheep breeds raised in different regions of the world. The results provide an in-depth picture of the genetic makeup of the current Merino and Merino-derived breeds, highlighting the possible selection pressures associated with the combined effect of anthropic and environmental factors. The study underlines the importance of Merino genetic types as invaluable resources of possible adaptive diversity in the context of the occurring climate changes.
Instituto de Genética
Fil: Ceccobelli, Simone. Università Politecnica delle Marche. Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences; Italia
Fil: Landi, Vincenzo. University of Bari ‘‘Aldo Moro”. Department of Veterinary Medicine; Italia
Fil: Senczuk, Gabriele. University of Molise. Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences; Italia
Fil: Mastrangelo, Salvatore. University of Palermo. Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences; Italia
Fil: Sardina, Maria Teresa. University of Palermo. Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences; Italia
Fil: Ben‑Jemaa, Slim. Université de Carthage. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie. Laboratoire des Productions Animales et Fourragères; Túnez
Fil: Persichilli, Christian. University of Molise. Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences; Italia
Fil: Karsli, Taki. Eskisehir Osmangazi University. Faculty of Agriculture. Department of Animal Science; Turquía
Fil: Balteanu, Valentin‑Adrian. University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca. Institute of Life Sciences. Laboratory of Genomics, Biodiversity, Animal Breeding and Molecular Pathology; Rumania
Fil: Raschia, Maria Agustina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina
Fil: Poli, Mario Andres. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina
Fil: Ciappesoni, Gabriel. Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria; Uruguay
Fil: Muchadeyi, Farai Catherine. Agricultural Research Council. Biotechnology Platform; Sudáfrica
Fil: Dzomba, Edgar Farai. University of KwaZulu-Natal. School of Life Sciences. Discipline of Genetics; Sudáfrica
Fil: Kunene, Nokuthula Winfred. University of Zululand. Department of Agriculture; Sudáfrica
Fil: Lühken, Gesine. Justus Liebig University. Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics; Alemania
Fil: Deniskova, Tatiana Evgenievna. L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry; Rusia
Fil: Dotsev, Arsen Vladimirovich. L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry; Rusia
Fil: Zinovieva, Natalia Anatolievna. L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry; Rusia
Fil: Zsolnai, Attila. Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Institute of Animal Science. Department of Animal Breeding; Hungría
Fil: Anton, István. Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Institute of Animal Science. Department of Animal Breeding; Hungría
Fil: Kusza, Szilvia. University of Debrecen. Centre for Agricultural Genomics and Biotechnology. Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management; Hungría
Fil: Carolino, Nuno. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária; Portugal
Fil: Santos‑Silva, Fátima. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária; Portugal
Fil: Kawęcka, Aldona. National Research Institute of Animal Production. Department of Sheep and Goat Breeding; Polonia
Fil: Swiatek, Marcin. Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW. Institute of Animal Sciences. Department of Animal Breeding; Polonia
Fil: Niżnikowski, Roman. Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW. Institute of Animal Sciences. Department of Animal Breeding; Polonia
Fil: Spehar, Marija. Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food; Croacia
Fil: Anaya, Gabriel. University of Córdoba. Department of Genetics. MERAGEM Group; España
Fil: Granero, Antonio. Asociación Nacional de Criadores de Ganado Merino (ACME); España
Fil: Perloiro, Tiago. Associação Nacional de Criadores de Ovinos da Raça Merina (ANCORME); Portugal
Fil: Cardoso, Pedro. Associação de Produtores Agropecuários (OVIBEIRA); Portugal
Fil: Grande, Silverio. Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia (ASSONAPA); Italia
Fil: López de los Santos, Beatriz. Departamento de Investigación y Desarrollo. EA Group SC; España
Fil: Danchin‑Burge, Coralie. Institut de l’Elevage; Francia
Fil: Pasquini, Marina. Università Politecnica delle Marche. Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences; Italia
Fil: Martínez Martínez, Amparo. Universidad de Córdoba. Departamento de Genética; España
Fil: Delgado Bermejo, Juan Vicente. Universidad de Córdoba. Departamento de Genética; España
Fil: Lasagna, Emiliano. University of Perugia. Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences; Italia
Fil: Ciani, Elena. University of Bari “Aldo Moro”. Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutics; Italia
Fil: Sarti, Francesca Maria. University of Perugia. Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences; Italia
Fil: Pilla, Fabio. University of Molise. Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences; Italia