Identification of SNPS associated with growth and development traits of goats (Capra hircus Linnaeus, 1758) from the resource population in age dynamics

The search for genetic variants that affect the growth and development of goats is relevant for creating a specialized meat breed and for increasing animal productivity. In this work, 34 potential QTLs associated with genes for linear measurements of growth and development traits, body weight, meat production and reproductive features, adaptability, hair follicle development, milk production and domestication in goats from a group of recurrent crosses in the resource population obtained by crossing local Karachaev goats hybrid by the wild aurochs with Kalahari breed sires were identified for the first time. We aimed to identify candidate genes associated with economically useful traits in the goat (Capra hircus) resource population. The studies were carry out in 2021-2023 at the Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry. The object was crosses of individuals from a specially created resource population of goats (n = 237), including 109 male and 128 female goats. The crosses obtained by crossing Karachaev local goats with a genotype share for 25 % genes of wild goat (3/4 Karachaev dam × 1/4 wild Caucasian tur) and Kalahari buck with the red coat. We created a database of phenotypes corresponded to the parameters of growth and development of young goats at an average age of 10, 110, 190 and 390 days. The following parameters were recorded: body weight, height at the withers, height at the back, height at the sacrum, height at the hips, height at the ischial tubewirosities, oblique length of the body, chest girth, metacarpus girth, chest width at the shoulders, chest depth, width at the iliac tubercle, width at the ischial tuberosities, and length of the head. Goat genotyping was performed using the Caprine SNP 50K BeadChip DNA chip (59727 SNP; Illumina, Inc., USA). GWAS analysis was performed using a standard linear regression model by Plink 1.9 program taking into account the population structure of the studied goat dataset. Gene annotation was carried out using the NCBI international genome assembly database ARS1.2 Capra hircus (goat). A total of 1036 genes were identified with SNPs included in or located near them ±0.2 Mb in goats’ genome associated with variability in phenotypic measurements for exterior and live weight traits for young goats from the resource population. Of these, 341 polymorphisms were identified directly in 326 genes on chromosomes 1-29. A detailed gene ontology-based analysis on biological functions of the genes we revealed by GWAS was performed using the international genetic information database DAVID. In the animals aged 10 days, the largest number of associations with significance levels from p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }