Analysis of Population Structure and Selection Signatures in Two Iraqi Fat-Tailed Sheep Breeds.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to elucidate the genetic architecture and selection signatures in two prominent Iraqi fat-tailed sheep breeds, Awassi and Hamdani. One hundred forty animals were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine SNP50K BeadChip, providing genome-wide coverage with approximately 53,714 SNP markers. To uncover candidate genomic regions under selection, we employed three complementary approaches: integrated haplotype score (iHS), runs of homozygosity (ROH) and Tajima's D analyses. The iHS analysis identified 69 candidate genes in Awassi sheep and 286 in Hamdani sheep, whereas ROH analysis revealed 190 and 277 candidate genes in the respective breeds. Tajima's D corroborated these findings with one gene in Awassi and four in Hamdani sheep. Population structure was rigorously assessed using A

SUBMITTER: Bayraktar M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12380718 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature