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. 2025 Mar 31;16(4):410.
doi: 10.3390/genes16040410.

Identification of Candidate Genes and Functional Pathways Associated with Body Size Traits in Hulunbuir Sheep Through GWAS Analysis

Hengqian Yang  1   2 , Tingting Li  2 , Na Zhang  2 , Jieran Chen  2 , Yuting Zhang  2 , Shiyu Peng  2 , Lisheng Zhou  1 , Runlin Ma  2 , Zhichao Zhang  2 , Qiuyue Liu  2 , Haitao Wang  2 , Jianning He  1
Affiliations

Identification of Candidate Genes and Functional Pathways Associated with Body Size Traits in Hulunbuir Sheep Through GWAS Analysis

Hengqian Yang et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

(1) Background: The Hulunbuir sheep is a Chinese local sheep breed with good meat quality and exceptional cold-stress resilience. However, the growth performance of the Hulunbuir sheep is lower when compared to that of commercial breeds. Growth traits such as body weight and body size are critical, as they directly influence the meat production in sheep farming. Employing genome-wide association studies can identify SNPs and candidate genes related to growth traits in Hulunbuir sheep. (2) Methods: The chest girth (CG), cannon circumference (CC), hip width (HW), body height (BH), and body length (BL) of 799 Hulunbuir sheep were measured. All the animals were divided into three groups according to their age (Group 1: 0-6 months old, Group 2: 12-24 months old, Group 3: 48-70 months old). Subsequently, genotyping was carried out using the Sheep 40K liquid chip. A multi-trait genome-wide association study (MT-GWAS) was performed for each group of animals. (3) Results: A total of three candidate genes (SLC9C1, VSTM2A, FRG1) associated with body size traits were identified through GWAS analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment for Group 2. (4) Conclusions: This study identified three candidate genes related to body size in Hulunbuir sheep, providing genetic targets for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in Hulunbuir sheep.

Keywords: GWAS; Hulunbuir sheep; body size; candidate genes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PCA result of population stratification of Hulunbuir sheep. (a) Group 1; (b) Group 2; (c) Group 3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Manhattan plots and corresponding Q-Q plots genome-wide association signals across chromosomes (x-axis), with significance threshold lines; the y-axis represents the −log10 (p-value). In the Q_Q plots, the red line represents the expected value and the observed value (blue dot) deviates from this line. (a) Group 1, p = 1.48 × 10−6; (b) Group 2, p = 1.34 × 10−6; (c) Group 3, p ＝ 1.32 × 10−6.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Gene Ontology terms enriched by genes associated with body size of three groups: (a) Group 1; (b) Group 2; (c) Group 3.
Figure 4
Figure 4
KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the candidate genes associated with body size traits for three groups: (a) Group 1; (b) Group 2; (c) Group 3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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