@article {3672,
	title = {Genome-wide association studies for milk traits in New Zealand dairy sheep},
	journal = {New Zealand Journal of Animal Science and Production},
	volume = {82},
	year = {2022},
	month = {01/2022},
	pages = {64-68},
	address = {Online},
	abstract = {The New Zealand dairy sheep industry has grown markedly in the last decades. With better genetics and management, companies have been able to improve key production traits. This study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with milk traits in dairy sheep. We performed genome-wide association (GWA) analyses for milk yield, fat and protein content using data from commercial farms. We used 54,698 milk yield records and 24,891 fat and protein records from 4,590 and 2,823 ewes, respectively. Phenotypes were collected between August 2018 and April 2021 across three locations in New Zealand. They were adjusted for flock, age, lactation, lambing date, weeks in milk and permanent environment. Animals were genotyped with commercial SNP chips with 13,759 markers available after quality control. GWA models included the genomic relationship matrix, three principal components and genomic inflation correction for the p-values. We found four genome-wide significant associations for milk yield. These variants were mapped to eight genes, PDZRN4 (intron), EDEM2, PROCR, MMP24 (intron), EIF6, FAM83C, UQCC1, and HDAC9 (intron). Of these, PDZRN4, HDAC9 and MMP24 were associated with milk traits in previous studies. No significant associations were found for fat and protein content. Genes shown here are promising candidate genes, requiring validation in independent samples.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Costilla R and Chan PB and Mcrae KM and McEwan JC and Dodds KG and Newman SA and Baird HJ and Henry H}
}
@conference {3672,
	title = {Preliminary linkage studies in sheep of keratin and keratin-associated protein genes with fleece weight, wool fibre diameter and fibre curvature},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {75},
	year = {2015},
	month = {07/2015},
	address = {Dunedin},
	abstract = { A linkage study was conducted to detect variations in the genes for keratins and keratin-associated proteins (KRTAP) that might
affect wool traits. To date 93 such genes have been identified in sheep: 85 of them (~91\%) are clustered in three chromosomal
regions. Twenty-one genes are grouped within a 4-Mbp region on sheep chromosome 1 (OAR1), 28 within a 1-Mbp segment on
chromosome 3 (OAR3), and 36 are clustered within a 1.3-Mbp site on chromosome 11 (OAR11). The DNA markers used in this
work were single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) dispersed throughout these keratin and KRTAP gene clusters. Markers were
designed as three SNP-multiplexes: a 25-SNP, a 15-SNP and a 19-SNP multiplex for keratins/KRTAP regions on OAR1, OAR3
and OAR11, respectively. Resource animals came from eleven sire families whose progeny had been phenotyped for greasy fleece
weight, washing yield, fibre curvature and diameter. Between 29 and 45 progeny per sire were genotyped with the three SNPmultiplexes.
Linkage analyses on co-segregation of SNP alleles from sires with wool phenotypes of progeny were done across all
the sires and within sire groups. Based on theoretical genome-wide threshold (F-value 10.13 and nominal P = 0.0016 for withinsire
suggestive level), one family showed suggestive quantitative trait loci for greasy fleece weight on OAR1 and fibre diameter
variability on OAR3. For these experimental animals, the results show no strong evidence of involvement of keratin and KRTAP
genes in the wool characteristics analysed.},
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Phua SH and Scobie DR and O{\textquoteright}Connell D and Henry H and Dodds KG and Brauning R and Clerens S}
}
