ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1612263
This article is part of the Research TopicFrom Genes to Traits: Understanding Phenotypic Variation in LivestockView all 13 articles
SNP Variation Landscape of BMP15 Gene from 75 Global Sheep Breeds and Their Genetic Effect on Lambing Traits
Provisionally accepted
Peiyao Liu1
Chunna ， Cao2Xiangding Wang1Kewei Li1
Ebadu Areb1
Ran LI1Qingfeng Zhang3
Chuanying Pan1
Xianyong Lan1*- 1Northwest A & F University Apple Research Center, Shaanxi, China
- 2Yangling Vocational & Technical College, Yangling, Shaanxi,, China
- 3Tianjin Aoqun Sheep Industry Academy Company, Tianjin, China
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Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) has emerged as a pivotal regulator of reproductive performance. Hence, this study aimed to investigate genetic variations in the sheep BMP15 gene and their regulatory role in lambing traits.Whole-genome sequencing of 2,409 individuals from 75 global sheep breeds revealed functional variations in the BMP15 gene. A total of 139 SNPs were detected, including 10 exonic variants (6 missense, 2 synonymous, and 2 premature stop codons), 9 of which were novel. For the high-frequency missense mutation g.54284258A>G (L251P), protein structure prediction suggested localized conformational changes. Low-frequency stop-gain mutations (e.g., g.54284551C>T)were rare in domestic populations (< 0.005%). Haplotype analysis revealed that H6 (AAAA) as the predominant haplotype among domestic breeds (48.4%), showing significant divergence from the wild ancestral haplotype H1 (AAGA). It indicates long-term artificial selection for lambing traits. Association analysis further revealed that the g.54284258A>G (L251P) variant was significantly associated with the number of live lambs at both first and second parity (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). ). Among variants, the AG genotype has significantly more live lambs (AG: 1.29 vs. AA: 1.12; P < 0.01). However, no significant associations were found with total lambing number, lamb survival rate, stillbirth count, or stillbirth rate. These findings highlight the genetic variability within the BMP15 gene and underscore the potential impact of the rare coding mutations g.54284258A>G on lambing traits. This variant may serve as a genetic marker for improving number of live lambs in sheep breeding program.
Keywords: Sheep, BMP15 gene, Live lamb number, whole genome sequencing, SNP
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Cao, Wang, Li, Areb, LI, Zhang, Pan and Lan. 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: Xianyong Lan, Northwest A & F University Apple Research Center, Shaanxi, China
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