Autoria: TIJJANI, A.; SALIM, B.; SILVA, M. V. G. B.; ELTAHIR, H. A.; MUSA, T. H.; MARSHALL, K.; HANOTTE, O.; MUSA, H. H.

Resumo: Background - Indigenous Sudanese cattle are mainly indicine/zebu (humped) type. They thrive in the harshest dryland environments characterised by high temperatures, long seasonal dry periods, nutritional shortages, and vector disease challenges. Here, we sequenced 60 indigenous Sudanese cattle from six indigenous breeds and analysed the data using three genomic scan approaches to unravel cattle adaptation to the African dryland region. Results - We identified a set of gene-rich selective sweep regions, detected mostly on chromosomes 5, 7 and 19, shared across African and Gir zebu. These include genes involved in immune response, body size and conformation, and heat stress response. We also identified selective sweep regions unique to Sudanese zebu. Of these, a 250 kb selective sweep on chromosome 16 spans seven genes, including PLCH2, PEX10, PRKCZ, and SKI, which are involved in alternative adaptive metabolic strategies of insulin signalling, glucose homeostasis, and fat metabolism. Conclusions - Our results suggest that environmental adaptation may involve recent and ancient selection at generich regions, which might be under a common regulatory genetic control, in zebu cattle.

Ano de publicação: 2022

Tipo de publicação: Artigo de periódico

Unidade: Embrapa Gado de Leite

Palavras-chave: Adaptação ao deserto, Gado Zebu, Insulina, Metabolismo Animal, Zebu africano, Zebu sudanês