Detection of genomic signatures of selection in the North African Brune de l’Atlas cattle

The identification of signatures of selection in indigenous livestock genome is able to elucidate the adaptive mechanisms allowing them to cope with environmental pressures. In the present study, we used genotyping data from 106 Brune de l’Atlas cattle individuals and tests based on the extent of haplotype homozygosity (EHH) to look for footprints of natural selection. We identified 17 genomic regions displaying strong signal of selection (p-value <10-6) overlapping with previously described QTL regions affecting many traits such as meat and milk composition, tuberculosis susceptibility, tick and mastitis resistance. Some of these highly significant candidate regions overlap with four previ…