Abstract
Yak has been subject to natural selection, human domestication and
interspecific introgression during its evolution. However, genetic
variants favored by each of these processes have not been distinguished
previously. We constructed a graph-genome for 47 genomes of 7
cross-fertile bovine species. This allowed detection of 57,432
high-resolution structural variants (SVs) within and across the species,
which were genotyped in 386 individuals. We distinguished the
evolutionary origins of diverse SVs in domestic yaks by phylogenetic
analyses. We further identified 334 genes overlapping with SVs in
domestic yaks that bore potential signals of selection from wild yaks,
plus an additional 686 genes introgressed from cattle. Nearly 90% of the
domestic yaks were introgressed by cattle. Introgression of an SV
spanning the KIT gene triggered the breeding of white domestic
yaks. We validated a significant association of the selected stratified
SVs with gene expression, which contributes to phenotypic variations.
Our results highlight that SVs of different origins contribute to the
phenotypic diversity of domestic yaks.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 5617 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Nature Communications |
Volume | 14 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 19 Sept 2023 |