E. N. Naryshkina, A. A. Sermyagin
Federal Science Center for Animal Husbandry named after Academy Member L.K. Ernst, Dubrovitsy, 60, gorodskoi okrug Podol'sk, Moskovskaya obl., 142132, Russian Federation
Abstract. The fertility of stud bulls is a complex relatively lowly heritable trait. It can also be characterized as the ability to produce a sufficient amount of sperm with a high concentration of spermatozoa in the highly fertile ejaculate. The identification of genomic regions, in particular of individual genes associated with the quality indicators of sperm, is an important link in the improvement of this trait using genetics and breeding. One of the new ways to solve this problem is genome-wide association study (GWAS), based on the use of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Numerous GWASs revealed significant associations between SNP markers and fertility. They are concentrated in certain regions of the genome. On chromosomes 2, 5, 18, 25, and 29 we detected areas associated with the fertilizing ability of stud bulls; on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 18, 22, 24, and 25 we detected loci associated with quantitative indicators of sperm produced by stud bulls. A number of polymorphisms are associated with fertility indicators such as acrosome response of spermatozoa, and chromatomodelling during spermatogenesis and meiotic process during maturation of germ cells. There is a large area on the X chromosome associated with sperm quality. We found that the X chromosome plays a key role in determining the quality of sperm and can potentially be included in the genetic assessment. The identification of SNPs associated with a low sperm count in the ejaculate, poor motility of spermatozoa, and various molecular defects responsible for uncompensated fertility of stud bulls is necessary for the early recognition of juveniles as less suitable for effective artificial insemination.
Keywords: stud bull; genomic selection; GWAS; sperm production; fertility.
Author Details: E. N. Naryshkina, Cand. Sc. (Agr.), senior research fellow; A. A. Sermyagin, Cand. Sc. (Biol.), head of division (e-mail: Этот адрес электронной почты защищён от спам-ботов. У вас должен быть включен JavaScript для просмотра.).
For citation: Naryshkina EN, Sermyagin AA. [Assessment of genetic and genomic variability of fertility traits in stud bulls based on loci associated with selection pressure (review)]. Dostizheniya nauki i tekhniki APK. 2020;34(9):64-72. Russian. doi: 10.24411/0235-2451-2020-10912.