Native cattle breeds can carry specific signatures of selection reflecting their adaptation to the local environmental conditions and response to the breeding strategy used. In this study, we comprehensively analysed high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes to characterise the population structure and detect the selection signatures in Russian native Yaroslavl and Kholmogor dairy cattle breeds, which have been little influenced by introgression with transboundary breeds. Fifty-six samples of pedigree-recorded purebred animals, originating from different breeding farms and representing different sire lines, of the two studied breeds were genotyped using a genome-wide bovine genotyping array (Bovine HD BeadChip). Three statistical analyses—calculation of fixation index (FST) for each SNP for the comparison of the pairs of breeds, hapFLK analysis, and estimation of the runs of homozygosity (ROH) islands shared in more than 50% of animals—were combined for detecting the selection signatures in the genome of the studied cattle breeds. We confirmed nine and six known regions under putative selection in the genomes of Yaroslavl and Kholmogor cattle, respectively; the flanking positions of most of these regions were elucidated. Only two of the selected regions (localised on BTA 14 at 24.4–25.1 Mbp and on BTA 16 at 42.5–43.5 Mb) overlapped in Yaroslavl, Kholmogor and Holstein breeds. In addition, we detected three novel selection sweeps in the genome of Yaroslavl (BTA 4 at 4.74–5.36 Mbp, BTA 15 at 17.80–18.77 Mbp, and BTA 17 at 45.59–45.61 Mbp) and Kholmogor breeds (BTA 12 at 82.40–81.69 Mbp, BTA 15 at 16.04–16.62 Mbp, and BTA 18 at 0.19–1.46 Mbp) by using at least two of the above-mentioned methods. We expanded the list of candidate genes associated with the selected genomic regions and performed their functional annotation. We discussed the possible involvement of the identified candidate genes in artificial selection in connection with the origin and development of the breeds. Our findings on the Yaroslavl and Kholmogor breeds obtained using high-density SNP genotyping and three different statistical methods allowed the detection of novel putative genomic regions and candidate genes that might be under selection. These results might be useful for the sustainable development and conservation of these two oldest Russian native cattle breeds.

Analysis of ancient and historical DNA has great potential to trace the genetic diversity of local cattle populations during their centuries-long development. Forty-nine specimens representing five cattle breeds (Kholmogor, Yaroslavl, Great Russian, Novgorod, and Holland), dated from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, were genotyped for nine polymorphic microsatellite loci. Using a multiple-tube approach, we determined the consensus genotypes of all samples/loci analysed. Amplification errors, including allelic drop-out (ADO) and false alleles (FA), occurred with an average frequency of 2.35% and 0.79%, respectively. A significant effect of allelic length on ADO rate (r2 = 0.620, p = 0.05) was shown. We did not observe significant differences in genetic diversity among historical samples and modern representatives of Kholmogor and Yaroslavl breeds. The unbiased expected heterozygosity values were 0.726–0.774 and 0.708–0.739; the allelic richness values were 2.716–2.893 and 2.661–2.758 for the historical and modern samples, respectively. Analyses of FST and Jost’s D genetic distances, and the results of STRUCTURE clustering, showed the maintenance of a part of historical components in the modern populations of Kholmogor and Yaroslavl cattle. Our study contributes to the conservation of biodiversity in the local Russian genetic resources of cattle.

Comparison of genomic footprints in chicken breeds with different selection history is a powerful tool in elucidating genomic regions that have been targeted by recent and more ancient selection. In the present work, we aimed at examining and comparing the trajectories of artificial selection in the genomes of the native egg-type Russian White (RW) and meat-type White Cornish (WC) breeds. Combining three different statistics (top 0.1% SNP by FST value at pairwise breed comparison, hapFLK analysis, and identification of ROH island shared by more than 50% of individuals), we detected 45 genomic regions under putative selection including 11 selective sweep regions, which were detected by at least two different methods. Four of such regions were breed-specific for each of RW breed (on GGA1, GGA5, GGA8, and GGA9) and WC breed (on GGA1, GGA5, GGA8, and GGA28), while three remaining regions on GGA2 (two sweeps) and GGA3 were common for both breeds. Most of identified genomic regions overlapped with known QTLs and/or candidate genes including those for body temperatures, egg productivity, and feed intake in RW chickens and those for growth, meat and carcass traits, and feed efficiency in WC chickens. These findings were concordant with the breed origin and history of their artificial selection. We determined a set of 188 prioritized candidate genes retrieved from the 11 overlapped regions of putative selection and reviewed their functions relative to phenotypic traits of interest in the two breeds. One of the RW-specific sweep regions harbored the known domestication gene, TSHR. Gene ontology and functional annotation analysis provided additional insight into a functional coherence of genes in the sweep regions. We also showed a greater candidate gene richness on microchromosomes relative to macrochromosomes in these genomic areas. Our results on the selection history of RW and WC chickens and their key candidate genes under selection serve as a profound information for further conservation of their genomic diversity and efficient breeding.

Summary Local breeds can serve as an important source of genetic variability in domestic animal species. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of Belarusian Red cattle and their differentiation from other European cattle populations based on genome‐wide SNP genotypes. Twenty pedigree‐recorded non‐closely related cows of Belarusian Red cattle were genotyped using the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip. Genotypes of 22 other European cattle breeds were included in the study for comparison. A total of 28 562 SNPs passed through the quality control checks and were selected for analysis. The Belarusian Red cattle displayed a moderate level of genetic variability (UHE = 0.341, HO = 0.368), and the highest heterozygote excess (UFIS = −0.066), among the studied breeds; this reflects the contribution of multiple breeds to their formation. The principal component analysis, FST‐based Neighbor‐Net tree and Admixture clustering, clearly distinguished the Belarusian Red cattle from the other European cattle breeds. Moreover, the presence of ancestral genomic components of Danish Red and Brown Swiss breeds were clearly visible, which agrees with the breed's history and its recent development. Our study highlights the importance of maintaining the specific genomic components, which makes a significant contribution to the global genetic diversity in the modern population of Belarusian Red cattle, allowing us to consider them a valuable national genetic resource. Our research results will be useful for the development of conservation programs for this local cattle breed.

The objective of this study was to identify the SNPs and candidate genes related to body weight and seven body conformation traits at the age of 8 months in the Russian aboriginal Karachai goats (n = 269) by conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), using genotypes generated by Goat SNP BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). We identified 241 SNPs, which were significantly associated with the studied traits, including 47 genome-wide SNPs (p < 10−5) and 194 suggestive SNPs (p < 10−4), distributed among all goat autosomes except for autosome 23. Fifty-six SNPs were common for two and more traits (1 SNP for six traits, 2 SNPs for five traits, 12 SNPs for four traits, 20 SNPs for three traits, and 21 SNPs for two traits), while 185 SNPs were associated with single traits. Structural annotation within a window of 0.4 Mb (±0.2 Mb from causal SNPs) revealed 238 candidate genes. The largest number of candidate genes was identified at Chr13 (33 candidate genes for the five traits). The genes identified in our study were previously reported to be associated with growth-related traits in different livestock species. The most significant genes for body weight were CRADD, HMGA2, MSRB3, MAX, HACL1 and RAB15, which regulate growth processes, body sizes, fat deposition, and average daily gains. Among them, the HMGA2 gene is a well-known candidate for prenatal and early postnatal development, and the MSRB3 gene is proposed as a candidate gene affecting the growth performance. APOB, PTPRK, BCAR1, AOAH and ASAH1 genes associated with withers height, rump height and body length, are involved in various metabolic processes, including fatty acid metabolism and lipopolysaccharide catabolism. In addition, WDR70, ZBTB24, ADIPOQ, and SORCS3 genes were linked to chest width. KCNG4 was associated with rump height, body length and chest perimeter. The identified candidate genes can be proposed as molecular markers for growth trait selection for genetic improvement in Karachai goats.