A Novel QTL and a Candidate Gene Are Associated with the Progressive Motility of Franches-Montagnes Stallion Spermatozoa after Thaw.

ABSTRACT: The use of frozen-thawed semen is an important reproduction tool to preserve the biodiversity of small, native horse breeds such as the Franches-Montagnes (FM). However, not all stallions produce cryotolerant semen with a progressive motility after thaw ≥ 35%. To improve our understanding of the genetic background of male fertility traits in both fresh and frozen-thawed semen, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on gel-free volume, sperm cell concentration, total sperm count, and progressive motility in fresh and frozen-thawed semen from 109 FM stallions using 335,494 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We identified one significant (p < 1.69 × 10^-7) quantitative trait locus (QTL) on ECA6 within the SCN8A gene for progressive motilit

SUBMITTER: Gmel AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8536120 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature