Selection for bulls that would reach puberty early reduces the generation interval and increases fertility and herd productivity. Despite its economic importance, there are few QTL associated with age at puberty described in the literature. In this study, a weighted single-step genome-wide association study was performed to detect genomic regions and putative candidate genes related to age at puberty in young Nelore bulls. Several protein-coding genes related to spermatogenesis functions were identified within the genomic regions that explain more than 0.5% of the additive genetic variance for age at puberty in Nelore bulls, such as ADAM11, BRCA1, CSNK2A, CREBBP, MEIOC, NDRG2, NECTIN3, PARP2, PARP9, PRSS21, RAD51C, RNASE4, SLX4, SPA17, TEX14, TIMP2 and TRIP13 gene. Enrichment analysis by DAVID also revealed several GO terms related to spermatogenesis such as DNA replication (GO:0006260), male meiosis I (GO:0007141), double-strand break repair (GO:0006302), base excision repair (GO:0006284), apoptotic process (GO:0006915), cell-cell adhesion (GO: 0098609) and focal adhesion (GO:0005925). The heritability for age at puberty shows that this trait can be improved based on traditional EBV selection. Adding genomic information to the system helps to elucidate genes and molecular mechanisms controlling the sexual precocity and could help to predict sexual precocity in Nelore bulls with greater accuracy at younger age, which would speed up the breeding programme for this breed.

中文翻译：

---

年轻内洛尔公牛青春期年龄的全基因组关联研究

选择提前进入青春期的公牛可缩短世代间隔并提高繁殖力和牛群生产力。尽管具有经济重要性，但文献中描述的与青春期年龄相关的 QTL 很少。在这项研究中，进行了加权单步全基因组关联研究，以检测与年轻 Nelore 公牛青春期年龄相关的基因组区域和推定的候选基因。在基因组区域内鉴定了几种与精子发生功能相关的蛋白质编码基因，这些基因解释了内洛尔公牛青春期年龄加性遗传变异的 0.5% 以上，例如 ADAM11、BRCA1、CSNK2A、CREBBP、MEIOC、NDRG2、NECTIN3、 PARP2、PARP9、PRSS21、RAD51C、RNASE4、SLX4、SPA17、TEX14、TIMP2 和 TRIP13 基因。DAVID 的富集分析还揭示了几个与精子发生相关的 GO 术语，例如 DNA 复制 (GO:0006260)、雄性减数分裂 I (GO:0007141)、双链断裂修复 (GO:0006302)、碱基切除修复 (GO:0006284) 、凋亡过程 (GO:0006915)、细胞间粘附 (GO: 0098609) 和粘着斑 (GO:0005925)。青春期年龄的遗传性表明，该性状可以基于传统的 EBV 选择得到改善。将基因组信息添加到系统有助于阐明控制性早熟的基因和分子机制，并有助于更准确地预测 Nelore 公牛在年轻时的性早熟，这将加快该品种的育种计划。0006284)、凋亡过程 (GO:0006915)、细胞间粘附 (GO: 0098609) 和粘着斑 (GO:0005925)。青春期年龄的遗传性表明，该性状可以基于传统的 EBV 选择得到改善。将基因组信息添加到系统有助于阐明控制性早熟的基因和分子机制，并有助于更准确地预测 Nelore 公牛在年轻时的性早熟，这将加快该品种的育种计划。0006284)、凋亡过程 (GO:0006915)、细胞间粘附 (GO: 0098609) 和粘着斑 (GO:0005925)。青春期年龄的遗传性表明，该性状可以基于传统的 EBV 选择得到改善。将基因组信息添加到系统有助于阐明控制性早熟的基因和分子机制，并有助于更准确地预测 Nelore 公牛在年轻时的性早熟，这将加快该品种的育种计划。