Genome-wide scan for selection signatures reveals novel insights into the adaptive capacity in local North African cattle

Natural-driven selection is supposed to have left detectable signatures on the genome of North African cattle which are often characterized by the fixation of genetic variants associated with traits under selection pressure and/or an outstanding genetic differentiation with other populations at particular loci. Here, we investigate the population genetic structure and we provide a first outline of potential selection signatures in North African cattle using single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping data. After comparing our data to African, European and indicine cattle populations, we identified 36 genomic regions using three extended haplotype homozygosity statistics and 92 outlier markers based on Bayescan test. The 13 outlier windows detected by at least two approaches, harboured genes (e.g. GH1, ACE, ASIC3, HSPH1, MVD, BCL2, HIGD2A, CBFA2T3) that may be involved in physiological adaptations required to cope with environmental stressors that are typical of the North African area such as infectious diseases, extended drought periods, scarce food supply, oxygen scarcity in the mountainous areas and high-intensity solar radiation. Our data also point to candidate genes involved in transcriptional regulation suggesting that regulatory elements had also a prominent role in North African cattle response to environmental constraints. Our study yields novel insights into the unique adaptive capacity in these endangered populations emphasizing the need for the use of whole genome sequence data to gain a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms.