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Genetic diversity and population structure of Tibetan sheep breeds determined by whole genome resequencing

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Abstract

Tibetan sheep is one of primitive Chinese sheep breeds, which achieved the divergence about 2500 years ago in Qinghai plateau region. According to different geographic conditions, especially altitudes, Tibetan sheep evolved into different breeds. In this study, we performed whole genome resequencing of 5 representative Tibetan sheep breeds. Comparative genomic analysis showed that they can be divided into different clades with a close genetic relationship. However, some genes with common selective regions were enriched for hypoxic adaptability in different breeds living at higher altitude, including GHR, BMP15, and CPLANE1. Furthermore, breed-specific selective regions about physical characteristics, especially wool growth, were found in genes such as BSND, USP24, NCAPG, and LCORL. This study could contribute to our understanding about trait formation and offer a reference for breeding of Tibetan sheep.

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Funding

This study is funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province (2017-ZJ-915Q and 2017-NK-114). GJ is supported by Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS. HF is supported by Qinghai “1000 Talents” programs.

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Author notes

  1. Lei-Lei Li and Shi-Ke Ma contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China

    Lei-Lei Li

  2. Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China

    Shi-Ke Ma & Wei Peng

  3. Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Qinghai Key Laboratory of Animal Ecological Genomics, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810001, China

    You-Gui Fang & Gong-Xue Jia

  4. School of Geography Science, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, 810016, China

    Hai-Rui Duo

  5. Qinghai Headquarter of Animal Husbandry Extension Station, Xining, 810008, China

    Hong-Yun Fu

Authors
  1. Lei-Lei Li
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  2. Shi-Ke Ma
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  3. Wei Peng
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  4. You-Gui Fang
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  7. Gong-Xue Jia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gong-Xue Jia.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics statements

All experiments in this study were handled in accordance with the requirements of Animal Ethic and Welfare Committee of Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Guest Editor: Shiela Chavez

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Li, LL., Ma, SK., Peng, W. et al. Genetic diversity and population structure of Tibetan sheep breeds determined by whole genome resequencing. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 174 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02605-6

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