Genome-wide association study of body morphological traits in Sudanese goats

Long-term selection of goats for a certain production system and/or different environmental conditions will be reflected in the body morphology of the animals under selection. To investigate the variation contributing to different morphological traits and to identify genomic regions that are associated with body morphological traits in Sudanese goats, we genotyped 96 females belonging to four Sudanese goat breeds with the SNP52 BeadChip. After quality control of the data, the genome-wide association study was performed using 95 goats and 24 027 informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Bicoastal diameter was significantly associated (LOD = 6.32) with snp10185-scaffold1365-620922 on chromosome 2. The minor allele has an additive effect, increasing the bicoastal diameter by 2.6 cm. A second significant association was found between body length and snp56482-scaffold89-467312 on chromosome 3 (LOD = 5.65). The minor allele is associated with increased body length. Additionally, five regions were suggestive for cannon bone, head width, rump length and withers height (LOD > 5). Only one gene (CNTNAP5) is located within the 1-Mb region surrounding the significant SNP for bicoastal diameter on chromosome 2. The body length QTL on chromosome 3 harbors 49 genes. Further research is required to validate the observed associations and to prioritize candidate genes.