<b>Discovery of host genetic factors through multi-locus GWAS against Toxoplasmosis in sheep: Addressing One Health perspectives</b>

<i>T. gondii </i>stands as one of the most successful pathogens, capable of infecting nearly all warm-blooded species. It is estimated that up to 50% of human populations could harbor Toxoplasmosis infections. Among the primary transmission routes is the consumption of tissue cysts from infected food-producing farm animals. Thus, controlling Toxoplasmosis in farm animals is of vital importance for public health and food safety. The implementation of selective breeding in farm animals, where available, could serve as an effective complementary strategy for eradicating Toxoplasmosis from herds. For this purpose, we conducted four multi-locus genome-wide association (GWA) approaches to uncover the underlying polygenic factors involved in innate resistance to Toxoplasmosis in naturally infected sheep. Our findings indicate that 16 SNPs, with varying levels of statistical power, significantly influence host immunity against <i>T. gondii</i> infection. This study marks the initial exploration of host genetic factors against Toxoplasmosis in livestock, utilizing the ovine paradigm as its foundation.刚地弓形虫（Toxoplasma gondii，下称T. gondii）是迄今最成功的病原体之一，可感染几乎所有温血动物类群。据估算，全球至多50%的人类群体可携带弓形虫病感染。其主要传播途径之一为摄食受感染食用畜禽的组织包囊。因此，防控畜禽中的弓形虫病对公共卫生与食品安全具有至关重要的意义。在条件允许的情况下，对畜禽实施选择性育种，可作为清除畜群弓形虫病的有效辅助策略。为此，我们采用四种多基因座全基因组关联（Genome-Wide Association，GWA）分析方法，旨在揭示自然感染弓形虫的绵羊中，参与弓形虫病先天抵抗力的潜在多基因因素。研究结果表明，16个具有不同统计效力的单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism，下称SNP）位点可显著影响宿主抗弓形虫感染的免疫能力。本研究以绵羊为模型，首次在家畜中探索了抗弓形虫的宿主遗传因素。