Overlapping haplotype blocks indicate shared genomic regions between a composite beef cattle breed and its founder breeds

Abstract

The Canchim composite breed was developed in Brazil combining the attributes of adaptation to the tropical environment of the Nelore breed with the growth performance of the Charolais breed. We aimed to identify overlapping haplotype blocks between Canchim and Nelore and Canchim and Charolais and, in doing so, characterize those haploblocks identified in each founder breeds that were shared with the Canchim. Haploblocks that were in overlap revealed segments of 418.29 kb (chromosome 13) and 553.17 kb (chromosome 19) between Canchim and Nelore; and 407.51 kb (chromosome 5), 419.72 kb (chromosome 8), and 578.51 kb (chromosome 10) between Canchim and Charolais. Long segments of shared haploblocks revealed genes associated with productive and reproductive traits. Furthermore, these segments include genes with functions associated with the immune system, disease resistance, and adaptability, being highlighted as important results for beef cattle raised in tropical conditions. The use of genomic data from founder breeds can assist to understand the genetic composition of Canchim and contribute to future studies on genome-wide association and genomic selection using a multi-breed evaluation.