A comparative functional genomic approach to unravel the genetic and genomic architecture of tail length in pigs and sheep based on a unified selection experiment design

The aim of the present study was an in-depth genomic analysis for tail length (TL), tail characteristics, tail abnormalities and body measurements in the Merinoland sheep breed considering whole-genome sequence (WGS) data. Genomic analyses included the estimation of genetic parameters and dominance effects, genome-wide associations for the additive and dominance component, and the annotation of potential candidate genes. In this regard, we implemented a unified selection and mating experiment to create extreme lamb groups based on breeding values for TL.