Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds

Abstract Italy has a long history in beef production, with local breeds such as Marchigiana, Chianina, Romagnola, Maremmana, and Podolica which produce high-quality meat. Selection has improved meat production, precocity, growth ability and muscle development, but the genetic determinism of such tra...

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Main Authors: Daniele Colombi, Giacomo Rovelli, Maria Gracia Luigi-Sierra, Simone Ceccobelli, Dailu Guan, Francesco Perini, Fiorella Sbarra, Andrea Quaglia, Francesca Maria Sarti, Marina Pasquini, Marcel Amills, Emiliano Lasagna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59269-z
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author Daniele Colombi
Giacomo Rovelli
Maria Gracia Luigi-Sierra
Simone Ceccobelli
Dailu Guan
Francesco Perini
Fiorella Sbarra
Andrea Quaglia
Francesca Maria Sarti
Marina Pasquini
Marcel Amills
Emiliano Lasagna
author_facet Daniele Colombi
Giacomo Rovelli
Maria Gracia Luigi-Sierra
Simone Ceccobelli
Dailu Guan
Francesco Perini
Fiorella Sbarra
Andrea Quaglia
Francesca Maria Sarti
Marina Pasquini
Marcel Amills
Emiliano Lasagna
author_sort Daniele Colombi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Italy has a long history in beef production, with local breeds such as Marchigiana, Chianina, Romagnola, Maremmana, and Podolica which produce high-quality meat. Selection has improved meat production, precocity, growth ability and muscle development, but the genetic determinism of such traits is mostly unknown. Using 33K SNPs-data from young bulls (N = 4064) belonging to these five Italian breeds, we demonstrated that the Maremmana and Podolica rustic breeds are closely related, while the specialised Marchigiana, Chianina, and Romagnola breeds are more differentiated. A genome-wide association study for growth and muscle development traits (average daily gain during the performance test, weight at 1 year old, muscularity) was conducted in the five Italian breeds. Results indicated a region on chromosome 2, containing the myostatin gene (MSTN), which displayed significant genome-wide associations with muscularity in Marchigiana cattle, a breed in which the muscle hypertrophy phenotype is segregating. Moreover, a significant SNP on chromosome 14 was associated, in the Chianina breed, to muscularity. The identification of diverse genomic regions associated with conformation traits might increase our knowledge about the genomic basis of such traits in Italian beef cattle and, eventually, such information could be used to implement marker-assisted selection of young bulls tested in the performance test.
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spelling doaj-art-e6b772e9fbed4698b5edf2b70495bff92025-08-20T03:18:32ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-04-0114111010.1038/s41598-024-59269-zPopulation structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breedsDaniele Colombi0Giacomo Rovelli1Maria Gracia Luigi-Sierra2Simone Ceccobelli3Dailu Guan4Francesco Perini5Fiorella Sbarra6Andrea Quaglia7Francesca Maria Sarti8Marina Pasquini9Marcel Amills10Emiliano Lasagna11Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (DSA3), University of PerugiaDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (DSA3), University of PerugiaCentre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UBDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Università Politecnica delle MarcheCentre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UBDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of PadovaNational Association of Italian Beef-Cattle Breeders (ANABIC)National Association of Italian Beef-Cattle Breeders (ANABIC)Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (DSA3), University of PerugiaDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Università Politecnica delle MarcheCentre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UBDepartment of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (DSA3), University of PerugiaAbstract Italy has a long history in beef production, with local breeds such as Marchigiana, Chianina, Romagnola, Maremmana, and Podolica which produce high-quality meat. Selection has improved meat production, precocity, growth ability and muscle development, but the genetic determinism of such traits is mostly unknown. Using 33K SNPs-data from young bulls (N = 4064) belonging to these five Italian breeds, we demonstrated that the Maremmana and Podolica rustic breeds are closely related, while the specialised Marchigiana, Chianina, and Romagnola breeds are more differentiated. A genome-wide association study for growth and muscle development traits (average daily gain during the performance test, weight at 1 year old, muscularity) was conducted in the five Italian breeds. Results indicated a region on chromosome 2, containing the myostatin gene (MSTN), which displayed significant genome-wide associations with muscularity in Marchigiana cattle, a breed in which the muscle hypertrophy phenotype is segregating. Moreover, a significant SNP on chromosome 14 was associated, in the Chianina breed, to muscularity. The identification of diverse genomic regions associated with conformation traits might increase our knowledge about the genomic basis of such traits in Italian beef cattle and, eventually, such information could be used to implement marker-assisted selection of young bulls tested in the performance test.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59269-z
spellingShingle Daniele Colombi
Giacomo Rovelli
Maria Gracia Luigi-Sierra
Simone Ceccobelli
Dailu Guan
Francesco Perini
Fiorella Sbarra
Andrea Quaglia
Francesca Maria Sarti
Marina Pasquini
Marcel Amills
Emiliano Lasagna
Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
Scientific Reports
title Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
title_full Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
title_fullStr Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
title_full_unstemmed Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
title_short Population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five Italian beef cattle breeds
title_sort population structure and identification of genomic regions associated with productive traits in five italian beef cattle breeds
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59269-z
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