Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows
Gestation length (GL) is a critical indicator of reproductive performance in sows and is closely associated with other reproductive traits, such as total number born (TNB) and number born alive (NBA). Despite its importance, the genetic mechanisms underlying GL and its impact on reproductive traits...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/3/447 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850068159036391424 |
|---|---|
| author | Dongdong Duan Shenping Zhou Zhenyu Wang Chuanmin Qiao Jinyi Han Mengyu Li Hao Zhou Xinjian Li Wenshui Xin |
| author_facet | Dongdong Duan Shenping Zhou Zhenyu Wang Chuanmin Qiao Jinyi Han Mengyu Li Hao Zhou Xinjian Li Wenshui Xin |
| author_sort | Dongdong Duan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gestation length (GL) is a critical indicator of reproductive performance in sows and is closely associated with other reproductive traits, such as total number born (TNB) and number born alive (NBA). Despite its importance, the genetic mechanisms underlying GL and its impact on reproductive traits remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the relationship between GL and reproductive traits using 7013 farrowing records and conducted an imputed whole-genome sequence-based genome-wide association study (GWAS) for GL in first-parity sows, involving 3005 French Large White sows. Our findings revealed that the heritability of GL ranged from 0.22 to 0.26. Both excessively short and long GLs were associated with negative impacts on TNB, NBA, and other reproductive traits. A total of 64 SNPs exceeded the significance threshold, leading to the identification of two novel quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosome 5 (QTL-1: 15.29–15.39 Mb and QTL-2: 12.86–12.94 Mb) and three promising candidate genes: <i>TROAP</i>, <i>RFX4</i>, and <i>ADCY6</i>. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses revealed that these candidate genes are enriched in key biological processes, including ovarian steroidogenesis, the GnRH signaling pathway, and the regulation of cAMP biosynthesis, all of which are crucial for gestation and pregnancy maintenance. These findings improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of GL in sows and offer valuable genetic markers for enhancing reproductive efficiency in breeding programs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2fd3315bba8c4e1db415d9bd560d2d5b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-2fd3315bba8c4e1db415d9bd560d2d5b2025-08-20T02:48:09ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-02-0115344710.3390/ani15030447Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White SowsDongdong Duan0Shenping Zhou1Zhenyu Wang2Chuanmin Qiao3Jinyi Han4Mengyu Li5Hao Zhou6Xinjian Li7Wenshui Xin8Sanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaSanya Institute, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya 572025, ChinaGestation length (GL) is a critical indicator of reproductive performance in sows and is closely associated with other reproductive traits, such as total number born (TNB) and number born alive (NBA). Despite its importance, the genetic mechanisms underlying GL and its impact on reproductive traits remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the relationship between GL and reproductive traits using 7013 farrowing records and conducted an imputed whole-genome sequence-based genome-wide association study (GWAS) for GL in first-parity sows, involving 3005 French Large White sows. Our findings revealed that the heritability of GL ranged from 0.22 to 0.26. Both excessively short and long GLs were associated with negative impacts on TNB, NBA, and other reproductive traits. A total of 64 SNPs exceeded the significance threshold, leading to the identification of two novel quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosome 5 (QTL-1: 15.29–15.39 Mb and QTL-2: 12.86–12.94 Mb) and three promising candidate genes: <i>TROAP</i>, <i>RFX4</i>, and <i>ADCY6</i>. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses revealed that these candidate genes are enriched in key biological processes, including ovarian steroidogenesis, the GnRH signaling pathway, and the regulation of cAMP biosynthesis, all of which are crucial for gestation and pregnancy maintenance. These findings improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of GL in sows and offer valuable genetic markers for enhancing reproductive efficiency in breeding programs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/3/447gestation lengthnovel QTLsnovel genesFrench Large White sows |
| spellingShingle | Dongdong Duan Shenping Zhou Zhenyu Wang Chuanmin Qiao Jinyi Han Mengyu Li Hao Zhou Xinjian Li Wenshui Xin Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows Animals gestation length novel QTLs novel genes French Large White sows |
| title | Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows |
| title_full | Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows |
| title_fullStr | Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows |
| title_short | Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints Novel Candidate Genes Associated with the Gestation Length of the First Parity in French Large White Sows |
| title_sort | genome wide association study pinpoints novel candidate genes associated with the gestation length of the first parity in french large white sows |
| topic | gestation length novel QTLs novel genes French Large White sows |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/3/447 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dongdongduan genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT shenpingzhou genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT zhenyuwang genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT chuanminqiao genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT jinyihan genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT mengyuli genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT haozhou genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT xinjianli genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows AT wenshuixin genomewideassociationstudypinpointsnovelcandidategenesassociatedwiththegestationlengthofthefirstparityinfrenchlargewhitesows |