Genome-wide association study identifies genetic variants underlying footrot in Portuguese Merino sheep

• Main Author: Gaspar, Daniel
• Publication Date: 2024
• Other Authors: Ginja, Catarina, Carolino, Nuno, Leão, Célia, Monteiro, Helena, Tábuas, Lino, Branco, Sandra, Padre, Ludovina, Caetano, Pedro, Romão, Ricardo, Matos, Claudino, Marcos Ramos, António, Bettencourt, Elisa, Usué, Ana
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/36590; https://doi.org/Gaspar, D., Ginja, C., Carolino, N. et al. Genome-wide association study identifies genetic variants underlying footrot in Portuguese Merino sheep. BMC Genomics 25, 100 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09844-x; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09844-x
• topic: Dichelobacter nodosus; footrot; sheep; Merino; Alentejo

Ovine footrot caused by Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is a contagious disease with serious economic and welfare impacts in sheep production systems worldwide. A better understanding of the host genetic architecture regarding footrot resistance/susceptibility is crucial to develop disease control strategies that efficiently reduce infection and its severity. A genome-wide association study was performed using a customized SNP array (47,779 SNPs in total) to identify genetic variants associated to footrot resistance/susceptibility in two Portuguese native breeds, i.e. Merino Branco and Merino Preto, and a population of crossbred animals. A cohort of 1375 sheep sampled across 17 flocks, located in the Alentejo region (southern Portugal), was included in the analyses.