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Ear type in sheep is associated with the MSRB3 locus.

J M Paris¹, A Letko¹, I M Häfliger¹

¹Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Genetics, University of Bern, Bern, 3001, Switzerland.

Animal Genetics

|August 18, 2020

Summary

Scientists identified a key gene, MSRB3, linked to sheep ear size and shape. Further research pinpointed a region downstream of this gene as the likely cause of large, floppy ears in sheep.

Keywords:

Ovis aries copy number variation fine-mapping genome-wide association study morphology whole-genome sequence

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Area of Science:

Animal Genetics
Sheep Breeding
Genomics

Background:

Ear morphology, including size and erectness, is a significant trait differentiating sheep breeds.
This trait is understood to have a complex, polygenic inheritance pattern.
Understanding the genetic basis of ear morphology aids in breed characterization and conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic regions influencing sheep ear morphology.
To investigate the genetic architecture underlying variation in ear size and erectness across diverse sheep breeds.
To pinpoint specific genes and variants associated with distinct ear phenotypes.

Main Methods:

Genome-wide analysis of 515 sheep from 17 breeds using 34k SNP genotyping data.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for ear size and erectness traits.
Whole-genome resequencing and fine-mapping of candidate regions around the MSRB3 gene.

Main Results:

A significant association for ear morphology was detected on ovine chromosome 3, linked to the MSRB3 gene.
Alleles associated with the GWAS signal were more common in sheep exhibiting large and/or floppy ears.
Whole-genome resequencing ruled out major copy number variants but fine-mapping indicated the causal variant is likely downstream of MSRB3.

Conclusions:

The MSRB3 gene region on ovine chromosome 3 is strongly associated with sheep ear morphology, particularly large and floppy ears.
While MSRB3 is implicated, the precise causal variant for large floppy ears appears to be located in a 175 kb region downstream of the gene's coding sequence.
Further fine-mapping is required to identify the specific causal variant influencing ear size and shape in sheep.