Interpretive Summary: Signatures of selection in indigenous Chinese cattle genomes reveal adaptive genes and genetic variations to cold climate

By: Ning Huang, Lihong Zhao, Jinpeng Wang, Qiang Jiang, Zhihua Ju, Xiuge Wang, Chunhong Yang, Yaping Gao, Xiaochao Wei, Yaran Zhang, Yao Xiao, Wenhao Liu, Shaoxiong Lu, Jinming Huang

Cold climates can affect cattle performance, survival, and health. Local cattle breeds have been adapted to the local environments including extremely cold temperatures after a long period of natural and artificial selection. Selection and local adaptation are shaping populations. However, identifying loci associated with cold adaptation has been a major challenge. We used high-density SNP arrays and resequencing data to comprehensively analyze and compare the genomic selection signatures of Chinese northern and southern cattle, and elucidated several adaptive genes and alleles involved in cold adaptation. The complexity of genetic adaptation mechanism among different low-temperature adapted cattle breeds was also emphasized.