Whole genome studies of origin, selection and adaptation of the Russian cattle breeds

Abstract

Our review presents several recent studies on the genetic history and signatures of selection in genomes of the native Russian cattle breeds. Most of these works are not easily accessible for the Russian-speaking audience. We describe the origins of appearance of the Russian cattle breeds from the genetics perspective. We point to the links between most of the Russian breeds with the taurine breeds of the European origin and for some Russian breeds with the breeds of the Asian origin. We describe major phylogenetic clusters of the Russian breeds and point to those that still maintain their unique genetics, meaning that their preservation is a priority. In addition, we review the results of the search for signatures of selection in genomes of the Russian cattle breeds. Some unique signatures of selection present in the genomes of so-called “turano-mongolian” cattle (i. e. the Yakut cattle) are described which allowed the Yakut cattle to adapt to harsh environments found above the Polar Circle. Signatures of selection which could help other cattle breeds of the Russian origin to adapt to various climatic condition of the Russian Federation are reviewed. The Russian cattle genomes also contain known signatures of selection related to cattle domestication about 8–10 thousand years ago. The most profound ones include genes related to changes of the coat colour. This phenotype in many cases could be related to the distinction of the first domesticated populations and lead to the formation of so-called land races (primitive breeds). Whole-genome association studies of Russian cattle breeds pointed to a novel gene which could be related to the “white-faced” phenotype and to a gene which is related to body temperature support under the acute cold stress. The data presented in our review could be used for identification of genetic markers to focus on in future efforts on designing new highly productive cattle breeds adapted to climates of the Russian Federation and other countries with similar climates.

Assessment of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in Black Pied cattle in the Novosibirsk Region using microsatellite markers

“…Cluster analysis revealed that the Black Pied and Holstein (HOL) populations were distributed between two different clusters (see Table 3), which confirms their genetic affinity (Yurchenko et al, 2018;Yudin, Larkin, 2019). The similar ity coefficient values for all the populations except D turned out to be much lower than that of HOL, which evidences different HOL pedigree levels in the investigated Black Pied populations (Zinovieva et al, 2015).…”

Selection of Kalmyk Cattle in Kazakhstan

“…In this regard, attention is paid to increasing the number of Kalmyk cattle. Along with traditional methods of breeding, they began to use an assessment based on the breeding value index (Yudin and Larkin, 2019).…”

Genome-Wide Association Study for Body Conformation Traits and Fitness in Czech Holsteins

“…Analyses of SNPs allow the detection selection signatures, such as specific shift in the frequency alleles and haplotypes frequency, as well as an increase or reduction in genetic diversity. This helps to identify modifications in the cattle genome in response to natural and artificial selection, and also loci and genetic variants directly affecting traits important for adaptation and production [10][11][12][13][14].…”