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Abstract

BackgroundThe back plays a vital role in horse locomotion, where the spine functions as a spring during the stride cycle. A complex interaction between the spine and the muscles of the back contribute to locomotion soundness, gait ability, and performance of riding and racehorses. Conformation is commonly used to select horses for breeding and performance in multiple horse breeds, where the back and croup conformation plays a significant role. The conformation of back and croup plays an important role on riding ability in Icelandic horses. However, the genes behind this trait are still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with conformation of back and croup in Icelandic horses and to investigate their effects on riding ability. One hundred seventy-seven assessed Icelandic horses were included in the study. A genome-wide association analysis was performed using the 670 K+ Axiom Equine Genotyping Array, and the effects of different haplotypes in the top associated region were estimated for riding ability and additional conformation traits assessed during breeding field tests.ResultsA suggestive quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the score of back and croup was detected on Equus caballus (ECA) 22 (p-value = 2.67 × 10− 7). Haplotype analysis revealed two opposite haplotypes, which resulted in higher and lower scores of the back and croup, respectively (p-value

Keywords

Back; Backline; Conformation; Croup; High-density genome scan; Icelandic horse; Lateral gait quality; Novel QTL

Published in

BMC Genomics
2021, volume: 22, number: 1, article number: 267

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-021-07454-z

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/111507