Selection signatures of wool color in Gangba sheep revealed by genome-wide SNP discovery.

Background: Gangba sheep as a famous breed of Tibetan sheep, its wool color is mainly white and black. Gangba wool is economically important as a high-quality raw material for Tibetan blankets and Tibetan serge. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the wool color of Tibetan sheep.

Different feeding strategies can affect growth performance and rumen functions in Gangba sheep as revealed by integrated transcriptome and microbiome analyses.

Due to the harsh environment in the Tibetan Plateau, traditional grazing greatly limits the growth potential of local animals and causes severe ecosystem degradation. This is an urgent issue to be solved, which requires alternative strategies for grazing animals in the Tibetan alpine pastoral livestock systems. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different feeding strategies on growth performance and ruminal microbiota-host interactions in the local breed of sheep (Gangba sheep).

Genomic analysis of worldwide sheep breeds reveals PDGFD as a major target of fat-tail selection in sheep.

Background: Fat tail is a unique trait in sheep acquired during domestication. Several genomic analyses have been conducted in sheep breeds from limited geographic origins to identify the genetic factors underlying this trait. Nevertheless, these studies obtained different candidates.

Whole-genome sequences of 89 Chinese sheep suggest role of RXFP2 in the development of unique horn phenotype as response to semi-feralization.

Background: Animal domestication has been extensively studied, but the process of feralization remains poorly understood.

Results: Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of 99 sheep and identified a primary genetic divergence between 2 heterogeneous populations in the Tibetan Plateau, including 1 semi-feral lineage. Selective sweep and candidate gene analysis revealed local adaptations of these sheep associated with sensory perception, muscle strength, eating habit, mating process, and aggressive behavior.