ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1573093
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring 'Omic' Biomarkers in Animal Production and ReproductionView all 11 articles
Genome-wide selection signal analysis reveals copy number variation associated with litter size in Guizhou black goat
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
- 2Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Guiyang, China
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Copy number variation (CNV) is a common form of genomic structural variation arising from genome sequence rearrangements, which primarily involves variations in the copy number of large genomic segments. In this study, we performed selection signal analysis of CNVs to identify candidate loci and genes associated with litter size in Guizhou Black goat. First, 30 Guizhou Black goat were divided into high-lambing and low-lambing groups based on their continuous lambing records. Phylogenetic tree construction and principal component analysis revealed significant differences in genetic structure between the two groups. Using the genetic differentiation index (FST) and nucleotide diversity (θπ) as selection signal indicators, 180 CNVs associated with litter size were identified. Functional annotation of these CNVs identified 49 candidate genes. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed significant enrichment of these genes in several reproductionrelated biological pathways, including the Hippo signaling pathway, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and retinol metabolism. This study offers novel insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying prolificacy in Guizhou Black goat and highlights potential targets for genomic selection breeding.
Keywords: CNV, Goats, Litter Size, whole genome sequencing, Select Signal
Received: 08 Feb 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Han, Yuan, Yang, Long and Xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yong Han, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Guiyang, China
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