Etourneau, A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Genome landscape and genetic architecture of recombination in domestic goats (Capra Hircus)

BackgroundRecombination is a fundamental biological process, both in participating to the creation of viable gametes and as a driver of genetic diversity. Characterising recombination is therefore of strong interest in breeding populations. In this study, we used [~]50K genotyped data and pedigree from two French populations (Alpine and Saanen) of domestic goats (Capra hircus) to build sex-specific recombination maps, and to explore the genetic basis of two recombination phenotypes: genome-wide recombination rate (GRR) and intra-chromosomal shuffling. ResultsSex-specific recombination maps showed higher recombination in males than females for both breeds (Alpine autosomal map size = 35.1M in males and 30.5M in females; Saanen map size = 34.0M in males and 29.0M in females). Heterochiasmy is particularly notable on small chromosomes, and at both ends of the chromosomes. Yet, no difference in shuffling has been found between populations. Genetic parameters on recombination phenotypes could only be estimated in males, due to lack of data in females. Both phenotypes are significantly heritable (h{superscript 2}=0.12 (0.03) for GRR and h{superscript 2}=0.034 (0.015) for shuffling, when pooling breeds). GWAS on male GRR identified several significant loci, including RNF212, RNF212B and SSH1, the last one being a novel locus for this phenotype. Correlation of SNP effects between breeds is low for both recombination phenotypes (0.25 for GRR and 0.04 for shuffling), indicating different genetic determinants in the two breeds. ConclusionsThis study contributes to the understanding of recombination evolution in ruminants, both between breeds and species.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Inferring domestic goat demographic history through ancient genome imputation

Goats were among the earliest managed animals, making them a natural model to explore the genetic consequences of domestication. However, a challenge in ancient genomic analysis is the relatively low genome coverage for most samples, limiting analysis to pseudohaploid genotypes. Genotype imputation offers potential to alleviate this limitation by improving information content and accuracy in low coverage genomes. To test this we used published high coverage (>8x) goat palaeogenomes, imputing downsampled genomes using the VarGoats dataset (1,372 individuals) as a reference panel. Measuring concordance between imputed and high coverage genotypes, we find high concordance after filtering for common (>5%), high confidence variants, with 0.5x genomes reaching >0.97 concordance. There is a trade-off between coverage, genotype probability (GP) thresholds, and genotype recovery, where higher coverage and more lenient GP thresholds result in higher recovery, and a reduction in heterozygous false-positive rates with stricter thresholds. We then imputed 36 goat palaeogenomes with [≥]0.5x coverage to examine runs-of-homozygosity (ROH) and identity-by-descent (IBD) patterns. Using a novel approach combining ROH profiles across tools, we find that among Neolithic goats, ROH increases with distance from the Zagros Mountains, suggesting a large effect of the initial dispersal of managed herds. Inbreeding levels decrease across Southwest Asia in more recent periods. IBD mirrored this pattern, with less relatedness in the early herding site of Ganj Dareh compared to higher relatedness in goats from later in the dispersal process. These findings provide insights into the genetic consequences of early goat management on demography, and confirm the utility of imputation in leveraging low coverage palaeogenomes. SignificancePaleogenomics offers crucial insight into how animals were domesticated, but poor DNA preservation in ancient remains often limits the reach of genetic analyses. We utilise a cutting-edge technique, genotype imputation, to recover missing genetic information from ancient low coverage goat genomes and shine light on their domestication process. Early domestic goats showed low overall runs-of-homozygosity (ROH) and relatedness. We find that during the Neolithic, runs-of-homozygosity (ROH) and relatedness among goats increased, likely a consequence of the movement of herds beyond their natural range by humans. Inbreeding levels decline in more recent periods, potentially due to expanded herd sizes, animal trade networks, or improved husbandry practices. These findings challenge long-standing assumptions about domestication bottlenecks and highlight how ancient DNA can be used to uncover complex evolutionary histories, even from low coverage ancient samples.

genomics↗