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Genomic analysis of hair sheep from West/Central Africa reveals unique genetic diversity and ancestral links to breed formation in the Caribbean
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  • Pamela Wiener,
  • Juliane Friedrich,
  • Melissa Marr,
  • Keith Ballingall,
  • Benjamin D. Rosen,
  • Guillaume Sallé,
  • Gordon Spangler,
  • Curtis Van Tassell,
  • Gustave Simo,
  • Vincent Tanya,
  • Mazdak Salavati,
  • Félix Meutchieye,
  • Emily Clark
Pamela Wiener
The University of Edinburgh The Roslin Institute

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Juliane Friedrich
The University of Edinburgh The Roslin Institute
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Melissa Marr
The University of Edinburgh The Roslin Institute
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Keith Ballingall
Moredun Research Institute
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Benjamin D. Rosen
United States Department of Agriculture
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Guillaume Sallé
INRAE
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Gordon Spangler
United States Department of Agriculture
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Curtis Van Tassell
United States Department of Agriculture
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Gustave Simo
University of Dschang Faculty of Sciences
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Vincent Tanya
Cameroon Academy of Sciences
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Mazdak Salavati
The University of Edinburgh The Roslin Institute
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Félix Meutchieye
University of Dschang Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences
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Emily Clark
University of Edinburgh
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Abstract

Cameroon Blackbelly sheep are a domestic breed of hair sheep from West/Central Africa. They are popular with small holder farmers in Cameroon as they are highly resilient to local environmental challenges and are prolific aseasonal breeders. The aim of this study was to characterise the genetics of the Cameroon Blackbelly sheep in relation to global sheep populations and to investigate their relationship to Caribbean hair sheep. We first examined the genetic diversity of the Cameroon Blackbelly breed relative to global sheep populations using 50K SNP data. We also used whole genome sequence (WGS) data to further investigate relationships between the Cameroon Blackbelly breed and breeds from Africa and Europe, as well as the Barbados Blackbelly breed from the Caribbean, which is phenotypically similar to Cameroon Blackbelly. Admixture results based on 50K and WGS data demonstrated both West/Central African and European ancestries for the Barbados Blackbelly sheep. Local ancestry inference identified several genomic regions in Barbados Blackbelly that had high proportions of West/Central African ancestry. One of these regions, on OAR3, includes various keratin genes, suggesting that these genes may play a role in the shared coat phenotypes of Barbados Blackbelly and Cameroon Blackbelly. The findings of our study support the view that sheep were transported from West/Central Africa to the Caribbean as part of the slave trade and European colonization. The genomic resources we have generated also highlight the unique genetic diversity represented by West/Central African sheep, their contribution to global breed formation, and the importance of conserving genetic diversity.
Submitted to Molecular Ecology
Assigned to Editor
Reviewer(s) Assigned
Submission Checks Completed
01 Jul 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
05 Sep 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
14 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor