Laboratory Animal and Comparative Medicine

   

Mining Candidate Genes for Litter Size Traits in English Springer Spaniel Bitches Based on Whole Genome Resequencing

GAO Yilong()(), HE Xingliang, ZHOU Xiaopeng, LI Dawei, BAO Xijun, LI Laiyou   

  1. Police Dog Technology Key Laboratory of Ministry of Public Security, Nanjing Police University, Nanjing 210012, China
  • Online:2025-12-23
  • Contact: GAO Yilong

Abstract:

Objective The candidate genes related to the regulation of litter size traits in in English Springer Spaniel were explored, and the genetic mechanism of dog fertility represented by English Springer Spaniel was investigated, in order to lay a foundation for further application of molecular breeding. Method Comparative analysis was conducted on two groups of high and low yielding English Springer Spaniel bitches by using whole genome resequencing, and selection elimination analysis was used to obtain Fst and Pi signal intersection as a high selection region for gene annotation and candidate gene screening. Result The average number of litter size in high yielding group (7.41±1.27) was significantly higher than that in low yielding group (3.82±1.20) (P<0.05), and the difference in total number of litter size was extremely significant (high yielding group 7.06±1.10 vs low yielding group 3.67±1.11, P<0.01).A total of 3 155 634 SNPs were found in two groups of samples, 63.09% of which were located in the intergenic region, 33.97%in the intron region, and only 0.38%,0.57% and 0.09% in the exon region, non-coding region 3' end, and 5' end, respectively. Among the SNP located in the exon region of the genome, 5 256 were non-synonymous variants, accounting for 43.55%. Extracting SNP loci located in the exon region, intron region, and non-coding regions at the 3' and 5' ends for gene annotation, a total of 1 752 differentially expressed genes were screened between the two groups of samples. KEGG and GO enrichment analysis on differential genes were conducted, and a total of 13 candidate genes that may affect reproductive performance and litter size traits were screened out, including WDR35, SMAD7, RPGR, RERGL, PGRMC2, LOC482182, GIMD1,COX7B2, COX16, BMPR2, BMP6, BICD1 and SLC9C1 . The gene functions mainly involved reproductive hormone regulation, embryonic development, GTPase activation, oocyte apoptosis and so on. Conclusion The English Springer Spaniel bitches have experienced significant artificial selection on the litter size trait, and the candidate genes affecting the litter size trait of these bitches have been preliminarily excavated. These genes play a role in the physiological activities related to dog reproductive performance, and mainly in the period of apoptosis of bitch egg cells and the beginning of pregnancy to particpate in regulation.

Key words: English Springer Spaniel bitches, litter size, genome resequencing, candidate gene, artificial selection

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