Convergent genomic signatures of domestication in sheep and goats

Abstract

The evolutionary basis of domestication has been a longstanding question and its genetic architecture is becoming more tractable as more domestic species become genome-enabled. Before becoming established worldwide, sheep and goats were domesticated in the fertile crescent 10,500 years before present (YBP) where their wild relatives remain. Here we sequence the genomes of wild Asiatic mouflon and Bezoar ibex in the sheep and goat domestication center and compare their genomes with that of domestics from local, traditional, and improved breeds. Among the genomic regions carrying selective sweeps differentiating domestic breeds from wild populations, which are associated among others to genes involved in nervous system, immunity and productivity traits, 20 are common to Capra and Ovis. The patterns of selection vary between species, suggesting that while common targets of selection related to domestication and improvement exist, different solutions have arisen to achieve similar phenotypic end-points within these closely related livestock species.

Rapid identification and interpretation of gene–environment associations using the new R.SamBada landscape genomics pipeline

“…A total of 164 individuals were sampled according to a grid composed of 162 cells of 0.5° of longitude/latitude each, so as to maximize the range of environmental conditions and geographic distribution (Figure ). Detailed sequencing and genotyping information are described in Alberto et al ().…”

Converging roles of glutamate receptors in domestication and prosociality

“…Despite this, alterations to glutamatergic signaling seem to have played an important role in the goat domestication process. In a recent study of convergent signals of selection on domesticated goats and sheep, Neurobeachin (NBEA), a gene that regulates glutamate and GABA receptor expression at synapses, was highlighted as being one of the most likely genes to be implicated in behavioral changes under domestication [17].…”

A whole-genome scan for association with invasion success in the fruit flyDrosophila suzukiiusing contrasts of allele frequencies corrected for population structure

“…The C 2 statistic we developed in the present study appears particularly well suited to search for association with population-specific binary traits. Apart from the invasive vs. native status we studied in D. suzukii , numerous examples can be found where adaptive constraints may be formulated in terms of contrasting binary population features, including individual resistance or sensibility to pathogens or host-defense systems (e.g., Eoche-Bosy et al , 2017), high vs. low altitude adaptation (e.g., Foll et al , 2014), ecotypes of origin (e.g., Roesti et al , 2015; Westram et al , 2014), or domesticated vs. wild status (e.g., Alberto et al , 2018). In our simulation study, the performance of the C 2 statistic was similar to that of a standard BF obtained after assuming a linear relationship between the (standardized) population allele frequencies and their corresponding binary status.…”