A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Hematological Traits in Camelus bactrianus

Abstract

Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) are one of the few large livestock species that can survive in the Gobi Desert. Animal immunity and disease resistance are related to hematological traits, which are also associated with tolerance observed in Bactrian camels. However, no genome-wide association studies have examined the genetic mechanism of the immune capability of Bactrian camels. In the present study, we used genotyping-by-sequencing data generated from 366 Bactrian camel accessions to perform a genome-wide association study for 17 hematological traits. Of the 256,616 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained, 1,635 trait–SNP associations were among the top quantitative trait locus candidates. Lastly, 664 candidate genes associated with 13 blood traits were identified. The most significant were ZNF772, MTX2, ESRRG, MEI4, IL11, FRMPD4, GABPA, NTF4, CRYBG3, ENPP5, COL16A1, and CD207. The results of our genome-wide association study provide a list of significant SNPs and candidate genes, which offer valuable information for further dissection of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the camel’s hematological traits to ultimately reveal their tolerance mechanisms.