Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analysis Elucidates Genetic Structure and Identifies Candidate Genes of Teat Number Traits in Pigs

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2024 Jan 11

PMID 38203622

Authors

Tingting Li

Pengchong Wan

Qing Lin

Chen Wei

Kaixuan Guo

Xiaojing Li

Yujin Lu

Zhe Zhang

Jiaqi Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The teat number is a pivotal reproductive trait that significantly influences the survival rate of piglets. A meta-analysis is a robust instrument, enhancing the universality of research findings and improving statistical power by increasing the sample size. This study aimed to identify universal candidate genes associated with teat number traits using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis with three breeds. We identified 21 chromosome threshold significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with five teat number traits in single-breed and cross-breed meta-GWAS analyses. Using a co-localization analysis of expression quantitative trait loci and GWAS loci, we detected four unique genes that were co-localized with cross-breed GWAS loci associated with teat number traits. Through a meta-analysis and integrative analysis, we identified more reliable candidate genes associated with multiple-breed teat number traits. Our research provides new information for exploring the genetic mechanism affecting pig teat number for breeding selection and improvement.

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