Identifying genes or genomic regions influencing carcass-quality traits such as fatness (FTN) is essential to optimize the genetic selection processes in beef cattle. The aim of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with FTN in Nellore cattle as well as to elucidate the metabolic pathways related to the phenotypic expression. Ultrasound-based measurements of FTN were collected in 11 750 animals, with 39 903 animals in the pedigree file. Additionally, 1440 animals were genotyped using the GGP-indicus 35K SNP panel, which contained 33 623 SNPs after quality control. Twenty genes related to FTN were found on 11 chromosomes, explaining 12.96% of the total additive genetic variance. Gene ontology revealed seven genes: NR1L2, PKD2, GSK3β, EXT1, RAD51B, SORCS1 and DPH6, associated with important processes related to FTN. In addition, novel candidate genes (MAATS1, LYPD1, CDK5RAP2, RAD51B, c13H2Oorf96 and TRAPPC11) were detected and could provide further knowledge to uncover genetic regions associated to carcass fatness in beef cattle.

中文翻译：

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超声测量内洛尔牛胴体脂肪的全基因组关联研究和通路分析

识别影响胴体品质性状（如脂肪 (FTN)）的基因或基因组区域对于优化肉牛的遗传选择过程至关重要。本研究的目的是确定 Nellore 牛中与 FTN 相关的基因组区域，并阐明与表型表达相关的代谢途径。在 11 750 只动物中收集了基于超声的 FTN 测量值，其中谱系文件中有 39 903 只动物。此外，使用 GGP-indicus 35K SNP panel 对 1440 只动物进行基因分型，在质量控制后包含 33623 个 SNP。在 11 条染色体上发现了 20 个与 FTN 相关的基因，解释了总加性遗传方差的 12.96%。基因本体揭示了七个基因：NR1L2、PKD2、GSK3β、EXT1、RAD51B、SORCS1和DPH6，与 FTN 相关的重要进程相关联。此外，检测到了新的候选基因（MAATS1、LYPD1、CDK5RAP2、RAD51B、c13H2Oorf96和TRAPPC11），可以为揭示与肉牛胴体脂肪相关的遗传区域提供进一步的知识。