Data from: Signatures of selection and environmental adaptation across the goat genome post-domestication

Background: Since goat was domesticated 10,000 years ago, many factors
have contributed to the differentiation of goat breeds and these are
classified mainly into two types: (i) adaptation to different breeding
systems and/or purposes and (ii) adaptation to different environments. As
a result, approximately 600 goat breeds have developed worldwide; they
differ considerably from one another in terms of phenotypic
characteristics and are adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions. In
this work, we analyzed the AdaptMap goat dataset, which is composed of
data from more than 3000 animals collected worldwide and genotyped with
the CaprineSNP50 BeadChip. These animals were partitioned into groups
based on geographical area, production uses, available records on solid
coat color and environmental variables including the sampling geographical
coordinates, to investigate the role of natural and/or artificial
selection in shaping the genome of goat breeds. Results: Several
signatures of selection on different chromosomal regions were detected
across the different breeds, sub-geographical clusters, phenotypic and
climatic groups. These regions contain genes that are involved in
important biological processes, such as milk-, meat- or fiber-related
production, coat color, glucose pathway, oxidative stress response, size,
and circadian clock differences. Our results confirm previous findings in
other species on adaptation to extreme environments and human purposes and
provide new genes that could explain some of the differences between goat
breeds according to their geographical distribution and adaptation to
different environments. Conclusions: These analyses of signatures of
selection provide a comprehensive first picture of the global
domestication process and adaptation of goat breeds and highlight possible
genes that may have contributed to the differentiation of this species
worldwide.