scholarly journals Genome-wide association study of piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) robustness in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borghild Hillestad ◽  
Hooman K. Moghadam

AbstractCardiomyopathy syndrome is a sever, viral disease of Atlantic salmon that mostly affects farmed animals during their late production stage at sea. Caused by piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV), over the past few years, the outbreaks due to this disease have resulted in significant losses to the aquaculture industry. However, there are currently no vaccine that has proven effective against this virus. In this study, using a challenge model, we investigate the genetic variation for robustness to PMCV, by screening large number of animals using a 55 K SNP array. In particular, we aimed to identify genetic markers that are tightly linked to higher disease resistance and can potentially be used in breeding programs. Using genomic information, we estimated heritability of 0.41 ±0.05, suggesting that robustness against this virus is largely controlled by genetic factors. Through association analysis, we identified a major QTL on chromosome 27, explaining approximately 57% of the total additive genetic variation. The region harbouring this putative QTL contains various immune related candidate genes, many of which have previously been shown to have a differential expression profile between the naïve and infected animals. We also identified a suggestive association on chromosome 12, where the QTL linked markers are located within two putatively immune related genes. These findings are important as they can be readily implemented into the breeding programs but also the results can further help in fine-mapping the causative mutation, in better understanding the biology of the disease and refine the mechanics of resistance against PMCV.

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 720-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borghild Hillestad ◽  
Hooman K Moghadam

Abstract Cardiomyopathy syndrome is a severe, viral disease of Atlantic salmon that mostly affects farmed animals during their late production stage at sea. Caused by piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV), over the past few years outbreaks due to this disease have resulted in significant losses to the aquaculture industry. However, there is currently no vaccine that has proven effective against this virus. In this study, using a challenge model, we investigated the genetic variation for resistance to PMCV, by screening a large number of animals using a 55 K SNP array. In particular, we aimed to identify genetic markers that are tightly linked to higher disease resistance and can potentially be used in breeding programs. Using genomic information, we estimated a heritability of 0.51 ± 0.06, suggesting that resistance against this virus, to a great extent, is controlled by genetic factors. Through association analysis, we identified a significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 27, explaining approximately 57% of the total additive genetic variation. The region harboring this QTL contains various immune-related candidate genes, many of which have previously been shown to have a different expression profile between the naïve and infected animals. We also identified a suggestive association on chromosome 12, with the QTL linked markers located in 2 putatively immune-related genes. These results are of particular interest, as they can readily be implemented into breeding programs, can further assist in fine-mapping the causative mutations, and help in better understanding the biology of the disease and the immunological mechanisms underlying resistance against PMCV.


Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borghild Hillestad ◽  
Ólafur H. Kristjánsson ◽  
Shokouh Makvandi-Nejad ◽  
Hooman K. Moghadam

Cardiomyopathy syndrome is a viral disease of Atlantic salmon, mostly affecting fish during the late stages of production, resulting in significant losses to the industry. It has been shown that resistance to this disease has a strong genetic component, with quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosomes 27 (Ssa27) and Ssa12 to explain most of the additive genetic variance. Here, by analysing animals from a different year-class and a different population, we further aimed to confirm and narrow down the locations of these QTL. The data support the existence of the two QTL and suggest that the causative mutation on Ssa27 is most likely within the 10–10.5 Mbp segment of this chromosome. This region contains a cluster of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) genes with the most strongly associated marker mapped to one of these loci. On Ssa12, the data confirmed the previous finding that the location of the causative mutation is within the 61.3 to 61.7 Mbp region. This segment contains several immune-related genes, but of particular interest are genes related to MHC II. Together, these findings highlight the likely key role of MHC genes in Atlantic salmon following infection with Piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) and their potential impact on influencing the trajectory of this disease.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 493
Author(s):  
Salvatore Mastrangelo ◽  
Filippo Cendron ◽  
Gianluca Sottile ◽  
Giovanni Niero ◽  
Baldassare Portolano ◽  
...  

Through the development of the high-throughput genotyping arrays, molecular markers and genes related to phenotypic traits have been identified in livestock species. In poultry, plumage color is an important qualitative trait that can be used as phenotypic marker for breed identification. In order to assess sources of genetic variation related to the Polverara chicken breed plumage colour (black vs. white), we carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a genome-wide fixation index (FST) scan to uncover the genomic regions involved. A total of 37 animals (17 white and 20 black) were genotyped with the Affymetrix 600 K Chicken single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Array. The combination of results from GWAS and FST revealed a total of 40 significant markers distributed on GGA 01, 03, 08, 12 and 21, and located within or near known genes. In addition to the well-known TYR, other candidate genes have been identified in this study, such as GRM5, RAB38 and NOTCH2. All these genes could explain the difference between the two Polverara breeds. Therefore, this study provides the basis for further investigation of the genetic mechanisms involved in plumage color in chicken.


2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Niazi ◽  
Hauke Thomsen ◽  
Bozena Smolkova ◽  
Ludmila Vodickova ◽  
Sona Vodenkova ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ficht ◽  
Robert W. Bruce ◽  
Davoud Torkamaneh ◽  
Christopher Grainger ◽  
Milad Eskandari ◽  
...  

Abstract Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) is a crop of global importance for both human and animal consumption, which was domesticated in China more than 6000 years ago. A concern about losing genetic diversity as a result of decades of breeding has been expressed by soybean researchers. In order to develop new cultivars, it is critical for breeders to understand the genetic variability present for traits of interest in their program germplasm. Sucrose concentration is becoming an increasingly important trait for the production of soy-food products. The objective of this study was to use a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify putative QTL for sucrose concentration in soybean seed. A GWAS panel consisting of 266 historic and current soybean accessions was genotyped with 76k genotype-by-sequencing (GBS) SNP data and phenotyped in four field locations in Ontario (Canada) from 2015 to 2017. Seven putative QTL were identified on chromosomes 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14. A key gene related to sucrose synthase (Glyma.06g182700) was found to be associated with the QTL found on chromosome 6. This information will facilitate efforts to increase the available genetic variability for sucrose concentration in soybean breeding programs and develop new and improved high-sucrose soybean cultivars suitable for the soy-food industry.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1786
Author(s):  
Soumeya Rida ◽  
Oula Maafi ◽  
Ana López-Malvar ◽  
Pedro Revilla ◽  
Meriem Riache ◽  
...  

Drought is one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses hampering seed germination, development, and productivity. Maize is more sensitive to drought than other cereals, especially at seedling stage. Our objective was to study genetic regulation of drought tolerance at germination and during seedling growth in maize. We evaluated 420 RIL with their parents from a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population with PEG-induced drought at germination and seedling establishment. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out to identify genomic regions associated with drought tolerance. GWAS identified 28 and 16 SNPs significantly associated with germination and seedling traits under stress and well-watered conditions, respectively. Among the SNPs detected, two SNPs had significant associations with several traits with high positive correlations, suggesting a pleiotropic genetic control. Other SNPs were located in regions that harbored major QTLs in previous studies, and co-located with QTLs for cold tolerance previously published for this MAGIC population. The genomic regions comprised several candidate genes related to stresses and plant development. These included numerous drought-responsive genes and transcription factors implicated in germination, seedling traits, and drought tolerance. The current analyses provide information and tools for subsequent studies and breeding programs for improving drought tolerance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 5915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengfei Zhang ◽  
Tingting Wu ◽  
Liwei Wang ◽  
Bingjun Jiang ◽  
Caixin Zhen ◽  
...  

Soybean is an excellent source of vegetable protein and edible oil. Understanding the genetic basis of protein and oil content will improve the breeding programs for soybean. Linkage analysis and genome-wide association study (GWAS) tools were combined to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are associated with protein and oil content in soybean. Three hundred and eight recombinant inbred lines (RILs) containing 3454 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and 200 soybean accessions, including 94,462 SNPs and indels, were applied to identify QTL intervals and significant SNP loci. Intervals on chromosomes 1, 15, and 20 were correlated with both traits, and QTL qPro15-1, qPro20-1, and qOil5-1 reproducibly correlated with large phenotypic variations. SNP loci on chromosome 20 that overlapped with qPro20-1 were reproducibly connected to both traits by GWAS (p < 10−4). Twenty-five candidate genes with putative roles in protein and/or oil metabolisms within two regions (qPro15-1, qPro20-1) were identified, and eight of these genes showed differential expressions in parent lines during late reproductive growth stages, consistent with a role in controlling protein and oil content. The new well-defined QTL should significantly improve molecular breeding programs, and the identified candidate genes may help elucidate the mechanisms of protein and oil biosynthesis.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e0119730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro P. Gutierrez ◽  
José M. Yáñez ◽  
Steve Fukui ◽  
Bruce Swift ◽  
William S. Davidson

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingxing An ◽  
Jiangwei Xia ◽  
Tianpeng Chang ◽  
Xiaoqiao Wang ◽  
Jian Miao ◽  
...  

Cattle internal organs as accessible raw materials have a long history of being widely used in beef processing, feed and pharmaceutical industry. These traits not only are of economic interest to breeders, but they are intrinsically linked to many valuable traits, such as growth, health, and productivity. Using the Illumina Bovine HD 770K SNP array, we performed a genome-wide association study for heart weight, liver weight, spleen weight, lung weight, and kidney weight in 1,217 Simmental cattle. In our research, 38 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ( P < 1.49 × 10−6) were identified for five internal organ weight traits. These SNPs are within or near 13 genes, and some of them have been reported previously, including NDUFAF4, LCORL, BT.94996, SLIT2, FAM184B, LAP3, BBS12, MECOM, CD300LF, HSD17B3, TLR4, MXI1, and MB21D2. In addition, we detected four haplotype blocks on BTA6 containing 18 significant SNPs associated with spleen weight. Our results offer worthy insights into understanding the genetic mechanisms of internal organs' development, with potential application in breeding programs of Simmental beef cattle.


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