UNRAVELLING THE GENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF BULL FERTILITY IN DAIRY CATTLE
By
YI HAN
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
2016
© 2016 Yi Han
To my parents and my grandfather
4
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank my advisor Dr. Francisco Penagaricano for giving me the opportunity to
enter this field and his help throughout my research. I thank my committee members:
Dr. Raluca Mateescu and Dr. Mauricio Elzo for being so kind, understanding and
supportive. Finally, thanks to Mom, Dad and Ruohan for their encouragement and
endless support.
5
TABLE OF CONTENTS page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 7
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 8
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 9
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 11
2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 13
Bull Fertility ............................................................................................................. 13 Compensable Traits vs. Uncompensable Trait ....................................................... 13 Prediction of Sire Fertility ........................................................................................ 16
Fertility Estimation Using Field Data (in vivo) ................................................... 16 Technician non-return rates (NNR) ............................................................ 17 Estimated relative conception rate (ERCR) and agritech analytics (ATA) .. 17 Sire conception rate (SCR) ........................................................................ 18
Predictors of Fertility in vitro ............................................................................. 19 Making Predictions ........................................................................................... 21
The Genetic Basis of Bull Fertility ........................................................................... 22 Chromosomal Aberrations ................................................................................ 22
Numerical aberrations ................................................................................ 23 Structural aberrations ................................................................................. 23
Gene Identification ........................................................................................... 24 GWAS ........................................................................................................ 25 Pathway based analysis ............................................................................ 26
Novel Omic Technologies on Bull Fertility ............................................................... 27
3 UNRAVELLING THE GENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF BULL FERTILITY IN HOLSTEIN CATTLE ............................................................................................... 32
Background ............................................................................................................. 32 Methods .................................................................................................................. 34
Phenotypic and Genotypic Data ....................................................................... 34 Statistical Methods for Genome-Wide Association Mapping ............................ 35 Genome-Wide Association Mapping Using ssGBLUP ..................................... 36 Genome-Wide Association Mapping Using Single Marker Regression
(cGWAS) ....................................................................................................... 38
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Gene Set Analysis ............................................................................................ 39 Results .................................................................................................................... 40
Whole Genome Association Analysis ............................................................... 40 Gene Set Analysis ............................................................................................ 42
Discussion .............................................................................................................. 44 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 48
LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 57
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 67
7
LIST OF TABLES
Table page 2-1 Summary of the strongest candidate genes found by GWAS ............................. 30
3-1 Most significant genetic markers associated with Sire Conception Rate. ........... 54
3-2 Gene Ontology (GO) Molecular Function terms significantly enriched with genes associated with Sire Conception Rate ..................................................... 55
3-3 MeSH terms significantly enriched with genes associated with Sire Conception Rate (SCR). ..................................................................................... 56
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure page 3-1 Descriptive statistics for Sire Conception Rate (SCR). ....................................... 50
3-2 Manhattan plots showing the results of the genome-wide association mapping for Sire Conception Rate. ..................................................................... 51
3-3 Genomic regions (1.5 Mb) that explain more than 0.50% of the genetic variance for Sire Conception Rate. ..................................................................... 52
3-4 Gene Ontology Biological Process terms significantly enriched with genes associated with Sire Conception Rate. ............................................................... 53
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AI
AIPL
ATA
CASA
CDCB
CDDR
cGWAS
Artificial insemination
Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory
Agritech Analytics
Computer-assisted semen analysis
Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding
Cooperative Dairy DNA Repository
Classical Genome-wide association studies
ERCR
GEBVs
GO
GSEA
HOST
IBD
MeSH
NAAB
NNR
PMI
QTL
SCR
SNP
ss-GBLUP
SSFS
USDA
Estimated relative conception rate
Genomic estimated breeding values
Gene Ontology
Gene set enrichment analysis
Hypo-osmotic swelling test
Identical-by-descent
Medical Subject Headings
National Association of Animal Breeders
Non-return rate
Plasma membrane integrity
Quantitative trait loci
Sire conception rate
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms
Single step Genomic best linear unbiased predictor
Service Sire Fertility Summary
United States Department of Agriculture
10
Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
UNRAVELLING THE GENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF BULL FERTILITY IN DAIRY
CATTLE
By
Yi Han
December 2016
Chair: Francisco Peñagaricano Major: Animal Sciences
Fertility is considered an important economic trait in dairy cattle. Most studies
have investigated cow fertility while bull fertility has received much less consideration.
The main objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive genomic analysis in
order to unravel the genomic architecture underlying sire fertility in dairy cattle. The
analysis included the application of alternative genome-wide association mapping
approaches and the subsequent use of diverse gene set enrichment tools.
The association analyses identified at least eight genomic regions strongly
associated with bull fertility. Most of these regions harbor genes, such as KAT8, CKB,
TDRD9 and IGF1R, with functions related to sperm biology, including sperm
development, motility and sperm-egg interaction. Moreover, the gene set analyses
revealed many significant functional terms, including fertilization, sperm motility, calcium
channel regulation, and SNARE proteins. Most of these terms are directly implicated in
sperm physiology and male fertility.
This study contributes to the identification of genetic variants and biological
processes underlying sire fertility. These findings can provide opportunities for
improving bull fertility via marker-assisted selection.
11
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
A rapid raising demand for dairy products has inflicted on a comparatively small
number of dairy cows in recent years (Potgieter, 2012). Multiple programs including
nutrition, management and genetic selection have been used and successfully made a
progress on milk production. However, traits associated with fitness, such as fertility are
seldom taken into account in dairy cattle breeding program. In response to the intense
selection for genetic merit of milk yield, a worldwide deleterious effect on fertility has
become a major concern (Lucy, 2001a; Pryce and Veerkamp, 2001). This phenomenon
happens to be both logical and natural (Berry et al., 2016). One possible explanation is
that the transmission of mutations causing infertility has always been prevented by
natural selection, and this protection has been broken by artificial selection (Ferlin et al.,
2006). In addition, some studies have suggested that this negative association may be
caused by genetic correlations, which are the result of pleiotropy and linkage, and
physiological factors (metabolic disease), since the genetic correlation is less than one
suggesting that genetic is not the only factor contribute to this phenomenon (Miglior et
al., 2005; Berry et al., 2016). From a physiological aspect, an evolutionary biology trade-
off hypothesis was proposed stating that both milk production and reproduction need
resources, and hence, a trade-off occurs when resources are limited (Berry et al.,
2016). For example, milk production has the priority in terms of nutrients and energy,
leading to a fertility depression (Berry et al., 2016).
Fertility is an economically important trait in dairy cattle production. Subfertility
denote a great direct or indirect financial loss, including sub-optimal calving interval,
higher veterinary and insemination cost and a forced replacement cost (Dijkhuizen et
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al., 1985; Heringstad et al., 2003). Nowadays, female reproduction traits receive more
consideration, and are included in selection indices (Miglior et al., 2005). In fact, most of
the attention has been paid to female fertility while bull fertility has received less
consideration (Peñagaricano et al., 2012c). However, male infertility is crucial in
mammalian reproduction. In human, it accounts for 40%-50% of the infertility cases
(Peddinti et al., 2008).
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
Bull Fertility
Bull fertility is explained as the zygote, successfully resulting from the process
where the spermatozoa fertilizes and activates the oocyte, can continue to develop
through embryonic and fetal development until delivery of alive offspring (Peddinti et al.,
2008; Kaya and Memili, 2016). Male infertility can be described as a reduced or absent
ability of producing spermatozoa that is capable of fertilizing the oocyte and supporting
subsequent embryonic and fetal development until birth (Feugang et al., 2010).
Sperm, to be fertile, needs to be produced properly through spermatogenesis
including a series of mitotic and meiotic divisions of male primordial germ cells, followed
by morphological remodeling and capacitation. The resulting spermatozoa needs to be
capable also of performing the following functions: adequate motility, move properly in
both male and female reproductive tracts in order to successfully reach the oocyte;
hyperactivation, support the penetration to the zona pellucida; acrosome reaction, the
release of enzymes from the acrosome that helps the sperm to penetrate the ovum;
penetration to zona; insemination and other roles involved in further support of
embryogenesis (Feugang et al., 2010; Kaya and Memili, 2016). During this long and
complex process, different environmental and genetic factors, including genetic
mutations, may result in abnormal and dysfunctional spermatozoa that finally leads to
bull subfertility (Feugang et al., 2010).
Compensable Traits vs. Uncompensable Trait
The primary responsibility of the AI industry is to provide products that meet the
goals of the whole dairy industry (DeJarnette and Amann, 2010). Due to the increasing
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awareness of the decreasing reproductive performance of dairy cattle, semen quality
traits have been emphasized by major AI organizations (DeJarnette and Amann, 2010).
Semen traits related to bull fertility can be categorized as compensable and
uncompensable; this simple classification has been the foundation of the semen quality
control programs (Saacke et al., 2000; DeJarnette et al., 2004a). Those traits, where
low semen fertility can be overcome by increasing the sperm count per AI dose to reach
their maximum fertilization rate, are considered as compensable; on the other hand,
those traits that do not respond to changes in semen concentration, are considered as
uncompensable traits (Saacke et al., 2000).
For compensable traits, it is important to determine the minimum amount of
semen per AI dose in order to achieve the maximum fertility (Saacke et al., 2000).
These traits typically affect the sort of events happening before the sperm penetrates
the oocyte membrane, and thus address the ability of inseminated sperm to move and
function in female tract, and to access the ovum or the site of fertilization (Evenson,
1999; Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). Conventional compensable traits can be
explained by viability (motility) and morphology (Saacke et al., 2000). Some studies
have shown that immotile sperm are restricted at several barriers in the female
reproductive tract (e.g. tubal isthmus) (Overstreet and Cooper, 1978); and only those
sperms with appropriate movement can cross the barriers, or constitute the accessory
sperm population (Saacke et al., 1994). Besides these conventional compensable traits,
other semen traits related to functional modifications that occur in the oviducts, including
sperm capacitation, sperm/egg recognition, and the acrosome reaction, are crucial in
the fertilization process, particularly in the penetration of the sperm into the zona
15
pellucida (Saacke et al., 2000). Thus, compensable traits not only include the ability of
the sperm to moving in the female reproductive tract, but also include the initiation of the
fertilization process and polyspermy blocks (Saacke et al., 2000).
Uncompensable traits dramatically affect bull fertility regardless of sperm dosage.
Low fertility bulls having uncompensable defects have been shown to have a reduced
early cleavage rate, and also a delayed pronuclear formation (Eid et al., 1994). Sperms
with non-compensable traits typically have low fertilization rates, producing low quality
embryos (Saacke et al., 2000). These semen traits induce spermatozoal incompetence
to continue or sustain the late stage of fertilization process, and induce embryonic
development, which becomes a limiting factor of bull fertility (Saacke et al., 2000).
Uncompensable traits include nuclear vacuoles, morphological deficiencies that do not
affect movement depression, chromatin structure and chromosome aberrations, and
functional genetic attributes (Peddinti et al., 2008; Kaya and Memili, 2016). Sperms with
normal or near-normal morphological shape, but with chromatin defects, are known to
cause subfertility (Gledhill, 1970). In fact, chromatin aberrations are probably the best
known non-compensable semen traits (Saacke et al., 2000). Finally, there is growing
evidence that several chromosomal regions contribute to genetic variation in
uncompensable traits (Blaschek et al., 2011b). To sum up, these non-compensable
traits appear to be very important in the fertilization process and subsequent
embryogenesis maintenance, and result from molecular and genomic defects.
A recent world-wide survey found that AI organizations are placing more sperm
that needed in each straw in order to ensure the maximum fertility (Vishwanath, 2003).
However, there are many bulls that present low fertility, probably due to the possession
16
of uncompensable semen defects. Because these defects cannot be fixed in laboratory
by increasing semen concentration, uncompensable traits should receive more attention
(DeJarnette and Amann, 2010; Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). Indeed, to estimate
precisely semen quality, it is important to detect and characterize potential non-
compensable defects, separately from typical compensable traits (Braundmeier and
Miller, 2001).
Prediction of Sire Fertility
Sire fertility has become a concern to both dairy and beef producers when they
select genetically superior bulls (DeJarnette and Amann, 2010). Thus, ensuring highly
fertile semen straws is a primary goal for any AI center (Sellem et al., 2015). Proper
prediction of sire fertility may provide a valuable tool to both AI industry and producers
(DeJarnette and Amann, 2010). The basic principle of sire fertility prediction requires
identifying a dependent variable, i.e. a good estimate of male fertility, and several
independent variables (Utt, 2016).
Fertility Estimation Using Field Data (in vivo)
Fertility estimation is quite complicated. Broadly speaking, fertility is defined as
the ability to give birth to alive offspring (Utt, 2016). The use of the term fertility is
convenient for an expression purpose, but it is inconvenient in terms of trait definition
and measurement (Amann and DeJarnette, 2012) . Since the process from
insemination to giving birth to a viable offspring is complex, it is hard to choose which
endpoint phenotype should be used for fertility measurement (Utt, 2016). Thus, multiple
systems for evaluating bull fertility are available, and in general, they are based on
either fertilization rates, non-return rates (NRR) or conception rates (Utt, 2016).
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Technician non-return rates (NNR)
The oldest method to measure bull fertility is based on professional technician
non-return rates (NNR), which have been used in the dairy industry since 1940s
(DeJarnette and Amann, 2010). Non-return means that a specific cow was inseminated
and she did not return to estrus, and hence, we consider this animal as pregnant (the
assumption of this method). This rate is calculated as the portion of cows that are not
re-bred by the same professional technician within a specific interval of time. This
method has been adopted as an indicator of bull fertility in many countries, because the
data is easily collected and the cost is fair (Miglior et al., 1998). Some studies have
shown that NNR is less biased by selection compared with other methods, and quite
reliable when causative factors are well controlled (Fouz et al., 2011). However, this
simple method has some important limitations. For instance, recording data is crucial: a
given tested cow may have no second service record because she left the herd, or she
was serviced by another technician, or simply because the second service was never
recorded; in other words, in this case having no second service has nothing to do with
conception (Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). Furthermore, many factors affecting
conception have to be assumed equally for each sire since we have poor knowledge
about the data, which also can contribute to the bias and unexplained variation
(DeJarnette and Amann, 2010).
Estimated relative conception rate (ERCR) and agritech analytics (ATA)
From 1986 to November 2005, the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory
(AIPL) provided to the US dairy industry an estimate of bull fertility called Estimated
Relative Conception Rate (ERCR), which is the difference in conception rate (measured
as non-return rate at 70 d) of a sire compared with other AI sires used in the same herd
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(Clay and McDaniel, 2001; DeJarnette and Amann, 2010). This estimate became
popular because its increased accuracy by considering several environmental factors
that may affect conception (DeJarnette and Amann, 2010; Amann and DeJarnette,
2012). These factors included milk yield, lactation number, stage of lactation, month of
breeding, year and herd. Moreover, the bull fertility estimate ATA, now called Service
Sire Fertility Summary (SSFS), was introduced to the dairy industry in 2003. This
estimate uses 75-day confirmed pregnancy instead of non-return rate, including also
information up to 5 services per cow per lactation (Norman et al., 2008). While ERCR
was calculated using 3-year rolling data, ATA system is based on perpetual data.
Sire conception rate (SCR)
Since August 2008, AIPL provides a new estimate of bull fertility called Sire
Conception Rate (SCR). This is a complex and more accurate estimate of the fertility of
AI service-sire, developed by Dr. Melvin Kuhn, that replaced ERCR (Di Croce, 2010).
The SCR is calculated three times per year using a large scale nation-wide database
(Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). Generally speaking, the SCR model includes several
factors related to the sire capability to achieve a conception, and remove simultaneously
multiple factors that are related to the cows that receive the semen (Kuhn and
Hutchison, 2008a; Kuhn et al., 2008b). These nuisance variables can indeed obscure
the true fertility of the bull (Norman et al., 2008). Factors related to the bull include bull
age at mating, inbreeding of service sire, inbreeding of the embryo from the mating, and
stud-year of insemination, and the inbreeding coefficient (Kuhn and Hutchison, 2008a;
Norman et al., 2008). The cow factors were identified by comparing the prediction of
alternative models with different combination of potential nuisance factors (Kuhn et al.,
2008b). These nuisance variables included group effect of cow herd, year-state-month,
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lactation, service number, effect of having a short interval between breedings, age of
the cow at breeding, milk yield, and the random animal effect as well as the random
permanent environmental effect (Kuhn et al., 2008b; Norman et al., 2008).
SCR is intended as phenotypic rather than genetic evaluation, because
published estimates reflect both genetic and permanent environmental effects (Norman
et al., 2015). Similar to ERCR, SCR is the expected difference in conception rate of a
sire compared with the mean of all other evaluated sires (Di Croce, 2010; Amann and
DeJarnette, 2012). For example, a bull with SCR of -1.0% is expected to have a
conception rate 1% lower than the average conception rate. The term “expected”
denotes that this statistical estimation is valid only when the database has an extremely
large number of matings (Norman et al., 2008).
The SCR model has been applied for 8 years. Due to more bulls having been
published and the fact that the assumptions of the model might have changed during
this period of time, the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) Sire Fertility
Evaluation Committee asked to re-examine the model; the results of this re-evaluation
showed that the SCR model is still valid (Norman et al., 2015).
Finally, since there are different traits and estimation procedures for bull fertility,
one may ask which one to believe. The truth is we should believe all of them; each
evaluation is designed for a certain situation and depends heavily on the data used
(DeJarnette and Amann, 2010).
Predictors of Fertility in vitro
To predict bull fertility in an accurate and precise way, the identification of
multiple independent variables is often very beneficial (Utt, 2016). The measure and
control of the sperm quality is a routine process in any AI company (Sellem et al., 2015).
20
In fact, in vitro–assessed sperm quality characteristics are very useful for predicting bull
fertility (Utt, 2016). In vitro fertility predictors can be classified into two general
categories, i.e. the direct measurement of different sperm attributes, such as motility
and morphology, and functional bioassays of sperm competence of a certain task
related to fertilization process, such as capacitation, acrosome reaction, or mucus
penetration (Utt, 2016).
Most commonly, sperm motility is selected as one of the major predictors for
male fertility, given that it is closely related to sperm viability and structural integrity
(Kathiravan et al., 2011). Computer-assisted semen analyzer (CASA) is a very precise
and accurate measurement of sperm motility (Kathiravan et al., 2011). Sperm
morphology also appears to be crucial to fertility. Briefly, sperm morphology maybe
related to both compensable and also uncompensable traits. Evaluation of sperm
morphology can be performed using microscope or automated morphometry
estimations (Mocé and Graham, 2008). Another useful laboratory analyses include the
flow cytometry, which is proven to be useful for assessing membrane integrity in bovine
sperm, mitochondrial status, the level of reactive oxidation, and acrosomal membrane
integrity (Sellem et al., 2015). Furthermore, there are many assays available that can be
used to evaluate the plasma membrane integrity (PMI); various assays should be
applied due to their different abilities to assess different PMI characteristics (Mocé and
Graham, 2008). For instance, an indirect indicator of PMI is the hypo-osmotic swelling
test (HOST); the results of this test are associated with in vitro fertilization rate and non-
return rate (Utt, 2016). Mitochondrial level can indirectly assess sperm motility by the
use of several fluorescent markers (Thomas et al., 1998). Western blot techniques or
21
flow cytometry can also be used to evaluate membrane changes (Mocé and Graham,
2008). Finally, the quality of the genetic package and different molecular indicators are
also strong predictors of bull fertility; these variables will be discussed in detailed in
section ‘The Genetic Basis of Bull Fertility’ and ‘Novel Omic Technologies on Bull
Fertility’.
Making Predictions
It is important to remark that both in vitro predictors and also field data
estimations have their own weaknesses and bottlenecks (Mocé and Graham, 2008).
Studies have shown that the correlation between the results of the two methods are not
always high as expected (Mocé and Graham, 2008). Fertility estimates are somewhat
limited by the definition considered for the term fertility and also the quality of the field
data collected (Mocé and Graham, 2008).
Prediction models for bull fertility use in general large datasets in order to
improve precision; however, large datasets cannot eliminate unexplained variation and
may even introduce more noise (Amann and DeJarnette, 2012; Utt, 2016).
In vitro prediction has limitations due to several reasons including the complexity
of the sperm function, predictor selection, the uncertainty and inaccuracy of in-vitro
measurements, and the presence of uncontrollable factors (Mocé and Graham, 2008;
Amann and DeJarnette, 2012; Utt, 2016). To fertilize an oocyte, a sperm requires many
attributes. In this sense, firstly we cannot figure out all the attributes, and secondly, the
specific attribute that is measured in-vitro is not likely to stand for the whole reason of
infertility (Mocé and Graham, 2008; Amann and DeJarnette, 2012; Utt, 2016). The use
of several attributes (predictors) in the model may be reasonable for fertility prediction;
however, finding the best attributes is also complicated (Amann and DeJarnette, 2012).
22
In addition, sperm traits are in general correlated, and such correlations in a multiple
regression model leads to wrong estimations (Utt, 2016). Finally, in vitro methods,
according to its definition, are conducted without the normal biological context which
lead to an innate disadvantage that the results of the assay may not be representing
what happen after insemination (Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). Thus, to make a
reasonable prediction of sire fertility, one needs to combine information and use not only
different statistic approaches but also reproductive biology knowledge (Utt, 2016).
The Genetic Basis of Bull Fertility
The quality of the genetic package is a good candidate to infer bull fertility. It
seems that genetics account for at least one third of the decline in pregnancy rate in
dairy cattle, and recent evidence also suggests that genetics is a major component of
male infertility (Ferlin et al., 2006; Shook, 2006a). Due to the wide use of AI, there is a
huge risk in dairy cattle that elite bulls may rapidly spread their genetic and
chromosomal defects into the entire population (Citek et al., 2009). Generally, the
genetic causes of sire infertility can be categorized into chromosomal abnormalities and
gene mutations.
Chromosomal Aberrations
Chromosomal aberrations have been widely studied because they are directly
linked to different fertility and reproductive problems in both human and domestic
animals (Larkin et al., 2015). Chromosome abnormality can negatively impact the
meiosis, gametogenesis, and the viability of the zygote and the subsequent embryo
(Raudsepp and Chowdhary, 2016). There are two types of chromosome aberrations,
namely numerical and structural aberrations (Larkin et al., 2015).
23
Numerical aberrations
Numerical aberrations can be classified into polyploidy and aneuploidy
(Raudsepp and Chowdhary, 2016). Polyploidy means that the cells contain more than
two paired sets of chromosomes, which most likely result from first cleavage division
suppression or embryonic cell fusion (Larkin et al., 2015). In mammals, aneuploidy is
the only numerical aberrations that was found, which result from failed disjunction in
homologous chromosomes during meiosis (Larkin et al., 2015). Aneuploidy means that
the cells contain an abnormal number of chromosomes; for instance, most commonly,
monosomes (missing a chromosome from a pair) and trisomies (one additional
chromosome of a pair) (Larkin et al., 2015). Autosomal numerical aberration are seldom
found in live animals since they are typically lethal during the embryonic stage
(Raudsepp and Chowdhary, 2016). Few cases have been reported mainly related to
abnormal number of sex chromosomes (Villagómez et al., 2009). For instance, XXY
trisomy was found in 3 Charolais sires, which seems to be related to testicular
hypoplasia, and hence, negatively affect bull fertility (Citek et al., 2009; Villagómez et
al., 2009).
Structural aberrations
Structural aberrations arise from alterations during the meiosis process, and are
related very often to reduced bull fertility (Molteni et al., 2005). Structural aberrations
appear as changes in the integrity of one or more chromosomes. These aberrations,
caused by misrepair of DNA breaks during the meiotic recombination, can be
categorized as balanced or unbalanced. (Larkin et al., 2015; Raudsepp and Chowdhary,
2016). Balanced aberrations do not alter the DNA content and typically include fusions,
fissions, inversions, or translocations (Larkin et al., 2015). Ideally, balanced aberrations
24
should be phenotypically harmless, and carriers can be ignored (Raudsepp and
Chowdhary, 2016). These carriers, however, have in general reproductive problems
because most of these aberrations disturb meiotic pairing and chromosome segregation
during the gametogenesis, and hence, they generate unbalanced gametes (Raudsepp
and Chowdhary, 2016). These unbalanced gametes result in early embryonic failures
(Larkin et al., 2015; Raudsepp and Chowdhary, 2016). Therefore, balanced aberrations
are especially harmful in breeding programs (Iannuzzi et al., 2002; Raudsepp and
Chowdhary, 2016). Unbalanced aberrations include deletions and duplications, which in
turn can reduce or increase DNA content, respectively. Large changes in chromosomal
segments are almost always lethal; however, the association between small changes
and fertility is not yet well understood (Raudsepp and Chowdhary, 2016).
There is growing evidence that Robertsonian (rob)-type translocations are
commonly related to cattle fertility, including both male infertility (Molteni et al., 2005)
and also female infertility (Bonnet-Garnier et al., 2008). In fact, this type of translocation
is responsible for roughly 5-10% in fertility reduction (Larkin et al., 2015). Some studies
have also shown that an abnormal Y chromosome, which is the result from a reciprocal
translocation between BTAY and BTA9, can lead to azoospermia in young bulls
(Iannuzzi et al., 2002).
Gene Identification
As a complex or multifactorial trait, fertility is simultaneously affected by
numerous genes and environmental factors (Andersson and Georges, 2004). To
enhance our understanding of the genetic basis of this complex trait, the identification of
genes related to bull fertility is very important. In addition, this knowledge can provide
opportunities for improving bull fertility via marker-assisted selection.
25
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) are considered as regions on the genome influencing
complex traits (Andersson and Georges, 2004). In the past two decades, identical-by-
descent (IBD) mapping has been used to detect QTL associated with complex traits in
livestock species (Andersson and Georges, 2004). However, the confidence interval of
a given QTL is in general too large, and hence, the candidate region may harbor tens to
hundreds of genes (Ron and Weller, 2007). This severely limits our understanding of
the biology of trait, and makes also animal selection less accurate. Fortunately, the
discovery of hundreds of thousands of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)
spanning the whole bovine genome, plus the development of different cost-effective
genotyping techniques have provided unique opportunities to identify genetic variants
underlying complex trait through the use of genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
(Goddard and Hayes, 2009).
GWAS
The term association in GWAS refers to the association between the trait of
interest and the genotype of a given SNP. In general, these associations are tested
using linear models, which assume that the phenotype can be explained by the sum of
independent variable effects. The SNP variable is included as a fixed effect, fitting one
SNP at a time. The significance level of the SNP is tested using a likelihood ratio
comparing the full model versus a reduced model without the SNP effect. GWAS have
successfully identified thousands of variants associated with multiple phenotypes
(Gibson, 2012). It is important to remark that complex traits are controlled by a large
number of genes with each of them having a small effect. Therefore, the genomic
regions detected by GWAS are only those with major effects. The vast majority of the
genes with small effects remain undetected under the significance threshold.
26
Single step GBLUP is an alternative statistical approach to further understand the
genetic structure of complex traits. This method considers all markers simultaneously
and combines phenotypes from genotyped and also ungenotyped animals. Thus,
additional information can be used compared with traditional GWAS, increasing the
sample size, and hence, the power of detection. Several studies have shown that this
alternative GWAS method is a very useful tool (Misztal and Wang, 2014; Fragomeni et
al., 2015).
Table 2-1 summarizes the findings of several GWAS related to bull fertility.
Pathway based analysis
The traditional GWAS strategy is not powerful enough to detect SNP that have
marginally weak but jointly strong effects (Weng et al., 2011). An alternative approach,
called pathway-based analysis, focuses on the association of a group of genes rather
than exploring only the most significant markers. This strategy can greatly complement
GWAS results (Wang et al., 2007; Weng et al., 2011). Indeed, pathway-based analysis
provides a unique tool to detect pathways and genetic mechanisms that contribute to
complex traits (Peñagaricano et al., 2012c). One common approach of pathway
analysis is the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). GSEA is used to determine
whether members of a given gene set (i.e., genes that are involved in the same
biological process or have the same molecular function) are overrepresented with
significant genes (Subramanian et al., 2005). Using this approach, one can focus on
gene sets rather than individual genes, which would be more reproducible and also
interpretable. In addition, the signal to noise ratio can be greatly increased, and hence,
it is possible to detect subtle changes in some mechanisms. In fact, gene set analysis
has been used to explore sire conception rate, identifying several pathways, such as
27
small GTPases mediated signal transduction, neurogenesis, calcium ion binding, and
cytoskeleton that may play a role in male fertility in cattle (Peñagaricano et al., 2012c).
Novel Omic Technologies on Bull Fertility
The primary idea of ‘omic’ technology is to evaluate multiple biological molecules
in a specific biological sample and then gain greater understanding of the trait at the
whole system level (Horgan and Kenny, 2011). The ‘omic’ studies often lead to
biomarker discovery as multiple molecules are investigated simultaneously (Joyce and
Palsson, 2006; Horgan and Kenny, 2011). Despite the biomarkers found in the genome
using genomics, which is the most mature among all the ‘omics’ technologies, there are
other biomarkers found by other ‘omic’ studies that can provide further insights into bull
fertility. Along the path from the gene to the endpoint phenotype, DNA is transcribed to
mRNA, that is then translated into a protein, ‘omic’ studies can investigate each step
and give rise to genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, respectively
(Joyce and Palsson, 2006).
The main goal of a transcriptomic analysis is to measure global gene expression,
evaluating both the presence and the abundance of individual transcripts (Joyce and
Palsson, 2006). Consequently, gene activity in any given moment can be evaluated
(Horgan and Kenny, 2011). Regarding bull fertility, microarray expression technology
has been used to evaluate the sperm transcriptome (Feugang et al., 2010). The
advantage of transcriptome analysis in bull fertility is the ability to access the remnant
mRNA from spermatogenesis, which is partially or totally delivered by the spermatozoa
to the oocyte in addition to the paternal genome (Feugang et al., 2010). Although the
role of this residual RNA is still unclear, this transcriptomic profile may represent a
fingerprint of spermatogenesis quality (Lalancette et al., 2008). Specific transcripts
28
associated with bull fertility have been identified in several studies. In particular, three
transcripts, protamine 1, casein beta 2, and thrombospondin receptor CD36 molecule,
were associated with bull fertility (Feugang et al., 2010). Additionally, transcripts
encoding a serine/threonine testis-specific protein kinase (TSSK6) and a
metalloproteinase non coding RNA (ADAM5P) were found to be related to high semen
motility (Bissonnette et al., 2009). One limitation of any transcriptomic analysis is that
gene expression is a measure of an intermediate product rather that an endpoint
product, which may lead to problems regarding to data interpretation.
The term proteomics refers to the large scale study of all expressed proteins in
an organism or system (Joyce and Palsson, 2006). Proteomics holds a special promise
for male fertility since it is the only comprehensive method that allows to study
molecular function of the spermatozoa, which has no active transcription or translation
(Peddinti et al., 2008; O'Brien et al., 2010). Especially, proteomics is ideal for biomarker
detection because the proteins directly affect the endpoint phenotype (Horgan and
Kenny, 2011). The first bovine spermatozoa proteomic analysis was conducted by
comparing extreme fertility bulls; this study reported a panel of protein biomarkers and
also potential signaling pathways closely related to bull fertility (Peddinti et al., 2008).
Another proteomic study, using 2-DE-based analysis, found that proteins involved in
sperm-egg interaction and cell cycle regulation are related to differences in bull fertility
(Gaviraghi et al., 2010). In addition, a panel of transmembrane proteins were reported
as potential biomarkers (Byrne et al., 2012), and nine proteins were identified as
putative sperm fertility biomarkers affecting the ability of bull sperm to reach and fertilize
the oocyte (D'Amours et al., 2010).
29
Metabolomics refers to the measure of the entire set of metabolites in a biological
system, which can provide a panel of potential biomarkers and also indicates cell
functionality (Horgan and Kenny, 2011). One obvious advantage of metabolomics over
the other ‘omic’ technologies is that the metabolite is considered to be very close to the
final (endpoint) phenotype (Horgan and Kenny, 2011). Metabolomics studies in human
fertility have identified oxidative stress biomarkers closely associated with semen quality
(Deepinder et al., 2007). Therefore, this approach is promising for bull fertility biomarker
detection.
The biomarkers discovered using ‘omic’ strategies can be very useful to evaluate
semen quality and predict bull fertility (Kaya and Memili, 2016). It is worth noting that in
order to maximize the information delivered from these ‘omic’ platforms, an integrated
system biology approach is needed to gain further understanding of complex
phenotypes (Kaya and Memili, 2016).
30
Table 2-1. Summary of the strongest candidate genes found by GWAS Chr Gene Gene function Trait Species Reference
1 ITGB5 ITGB5 gene may involve in sperm-egg interaction
Noncompensatory fertility in semen
Holstein Bulls
(Feugang et al., 2009a)
5 LOC784935
LOC784935 encodes cpb-1 protein that is present in the germ line just prior to overt spermatogenesis and is essential for successful progression through meiosis.
SCR Holstein Bulls
(Peñagaricano et al., 2012b)
23 PPP1R11
PPP1R11 plays important roles in sperm motility and spermatogenesis.
SCR Holstein Bulls
(Li et al., 2012a)
19 STAT5A STAT5A encodes protein that is a member of the STAT family of transcription factors.
EREC Holstein Bulls
(Khatib et al., 2010a)
17 FGF2 Plays an important role in the regulation of cell survival, cell division, angiogenesis, cell differentiation and cell migration. Functions as potent mitogen in vitro. Can induce angiogenesis.
X AR The gene encodes androgen receptor. Androgen-signaling pathway is critical for testicular development, spermatogenesis, and mammalian fertility.
Scrotal circumference at 12 mo
Brahman Bulls
(Fortes et al., 2012a)
X SERPINA7
The gene SERPINA7 encodes the major thyroid hormone transport protein, TBG, in serum that can influence steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis.
Proportion of normal sperm at 24 mo
14 PLAG1 PLAG1, which is developmentally regulated has been showed consistently rearranged in pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary glands.
IGF1
7 PROP1 PROP1 gene expressed in the pituitary gland specifically, and it plays a important role in the ontogenesis of pituitary gonadotropes, somatotropes, lactotropes, and caudomedial thyrotropes.
SCR Holstein Bulls
(Lan et al., 2013a)
7 CSF1R The gene involved in the regulation of self-renewal and extrinsic stimulation of spermatogonia stem cells and is the tissue-specific stem cell of mammalian testes, committed to establishing and maintaining spermatogenesis and maintaining male fertility.
Semen volume per ejaculate
Chinese Hosterin Bulls
(Qin et al., 2016)
31
Table 2-1. Continued Chr Gene Gene function Trait Species Reference
1 SOD1 The gene is important in sperm production and ultimately contributes to the maturation and/or sperm survival.
Sperm concentration per ejaculate
1 LOC785875
This gene is important in chemo-sensing and in regulation of sperm motility.
Sperm motility
Holstein-Friensian Bulls
(Hering et al., 2014a)
10 GALC GALC plays important function in spermiogenesis and indicated on critical role for lysosomal enzymes in testicular as well as epididymal maturation of the mouse spermatozoa.
Semen Volume
Holstein-Friensian Bulls
(Hering et al., 2014c)
22 PHF7 PHF7 is found to be involved in germ-cell development and spermatogenesis, and also play a role in germline stem cell keeping and gametogenesis in males.
Total Number of Sperm
3 PRMT6 PRMT5 is associated with germ-cell development in mice, and the expression of PRMT5 is specific for gonads in adult medaka.
Sperm Concentration
Holstein-Friensian Bulls
(Hering et al., 2014b)
X MAGEB10
The encoded protein is specifically expressed in testis and tumor cells.
Semen Volume & Number of Spermatozoa
Holstein-Friensian Bulls
(Suchocki and Szyda, 2015)
X KLH13 This gene plays a role in proper chromosome segregation and completion of cytokinesis.
Motility Score
6 SGMS2 SGMS2 gene plays a role in developing acrosome in spermatids and cell membrane reconstructing.
Sperm Membrane Integrity
Holstein-Friensian Bulls
(Kamiński et al., 2016)
19 TMEM95
TMEM95 is a nonsense mutation that can cause of the idiopathic male subfertility. It located at the surface of spermatozoa of fertile animals whereas it is absent in spermatozoa of subfertile animals.
Male Reproductive Ability
Fleckvieh Bulls
(Pausch et al., 2014)
32
CHAPTER 3 UNRAVELLING THE GENOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF BULL FERTILITY IN HOLSTEIN
CATTLE
Background
Improving reproductive efficiency of dairy cattle has become one of the major
challenges of the dairy industry worldwide. The intense selection for production traits in
the last decades has led to a decrease in fertility (Royal et al., 2000; Lucy, 2001b).
Fertilization failure and early embryonic loss have been identified as the two main
factors contributing to this decline (Morris and Diskin, 2008; Diskin et al., 2012). For
instance, fertilization rate in high-producing dairy cows is about 75%, and only 65% of
the fertilized eggs are considered viable at 5-6 days post-fertilization (Santos et al.,
2004). It is no surprise that conception rates are only 35-45% (Santos et al., 2004).
Many factors may account for this decline in reproductive performance, including
physiological, nutritional, environmental, and genetic factors. In this sense, several
studies have recognized that there is substantial genetic variation underlying
reproductive success in dairy cattle (Shook, 2006b; Weigel, 2006).
Reproduction is a very complex process that involves numerous consecutive
events, including gametogenesis, fertilization, and early embryo development, that
should be accomplished in a well-orchestrated manner in order to achieve a successful
pregnancy. The relative importance of the parental effects on the reproductive success,
i.e., maternal versus paternal contribution to the zygote, is still largely unknown (Kropp
et al., 2014). Most studies in dairy cattle have focused on female fertility, while male
fertility has received much less attention. It is worth noting that the service sire has a
direct influence not only in the fertilization process but also on the viability of the
preimplantation embryo (Stalhammar et al., 1994; Amann and DeJarnette, 2012). In
33
fact, previous studies have reported that the service sire represents an important source
of variation for conception rate in dairy cattle (DeJarnette et al., 2004b; Jamrozik et al.,
2005; Nagamine and Sasaki, 2008).
Both candidate gene (Khatib et al., 2010b; Li et al., 2012b; Lan et al., 2013b) and
whole-genome scan (Feugang et al., 2009b; Blaschek et al., 2011a; Fortes et al.,
2012b; Peñagaricano et al., 2012a) approaches have attempted to identify genomic
regions and individual genes responsible for the genetic variation in bull fertility. For
instance, two highly conserved spermatogenesis genes, MAP1B and PPP1R11, were
significantly associated with male fertility in Holsteins (Li et al., 2012b). In addition,
genetic markers in BTA2, BTA14, and BTAX were associated with testicular
development, sperm quality, and hormone levels in young Brahman bulls (Fortes et al.,
2012b). It should be noted that these association studies detect in general only the most
significant markers, and hence, the vast majority of the genetic variants contributing to
the trait remain hidden. In this context, gene set or pathway-based analysis offers an
alternative strategy based on evaluating modules of functionally related genes, rather
than focusing only on the most significant markers (Chasman, 2008; Peng et al., 2010).
This approach provides unique opportunities to detect the genetic mechanisms
underlying complex phenotypes. Indeed, using this pathway-based approach, we have
identified some processes, such as small GTPases mediated signal transduction or
calcium ion binding, that may explain part of the differences in sire fertility
(Peñagaricano et al., 2013).
The main objective of this study was to unravel the genomic architecture
underlying sire fertility in dairy cattle. Sire Conception Rate (SCR) was used as a
34
measure of bull fertility. SCR is a new and more accurate phenotypic evaluation of dairy
sire fertility calculated using field data. Two complementary genome-wide association
approaches plus different gene set analyses were performed in order to identify
genomic regions, individual genes, functional gene terms, and biological pathways
associated with sire fertility. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of
the genetics underlying this complex trait and may point out opportunities for improving
bull fertility via selective breeding.
Methods
Phenotypic and Genotypic Data
The Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory of the United States Department
of Agriculture (AIPL-USDA) implemented in 2008 a national phenotypic evaluation of
bull fertility called Sire Conception Rate (SCR). The model that is being used in the U.S.
bull fertility evaluation includes both factors related to the service sire under evaluation
(including age of the bull and AI organization) and also factors (nuisance variables)
associated with the cow that receives the unit of semen (including herd-year-season,
cow age, parity, and milk yield) (Kuhn and Hutchison, 2008b; Kuhn et al., 2008a). The
trait SCR is defined as the expected difference in conception rate of a given bull
compared to the mean of all other evaluated bulls; in other words, a bull with an SCR
value of +5.0% is expected to achieve a conception rate of 37% in a herd that normally
averages 32% and uses average SCR bulls. It is worth noting that the U.S. bull fertility
evaluation, in contrast to evaluations for other traits such as production, is intended as a
phenotypic rather that a genetic evaluation, because the estimates include not only
genetic but also some (permanent) environmental effects.
35
The entire evaluation of U.S. Holstein bull fertility was used in this study.
Specifically, a total of 44,449 SCR records were available from a total of 10,884
Holstein bulls. These SCR records were obtained from 23 consecutive evaluations
provided to the U.S. dairy industry between August 2008 and April 2016. These 23
different SCR evaluations are available at the Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB)
website (https://www.cdcb.us/). Figure 3-1 shows (A) the distribution of SCR values per
evaluation and (B) the distribution of the number of SCR records per bull, i.e., total
number of repeated measurements per sire evaluated. The reliabilities of the SCR
records, calculated as a function of the number of breedings, were also available for the
analyses.
Genotype data for 60,671 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were
available for 7,447 out of the 10,884 Holstein bulls with SCR evaluation. The SNP data
were kindly provided by the Cooperative Dairy DNA Repository (CDDR). Those SNP
markers that mapped to the sex chromosomes, or were monomorphic, or had minor
allele frequency less than 1% were removed from our dataset. After data editing, a total
of 58,029 SNP markers were retained for subsequent genomic analysis.
Statistical Methods for Genome-Wide Association Mapping
The association analysis between phenotypes and genotypes using related
individuals with repeated measurements can be implemented within the framework of
the classical repeatability animal model,
y = Xβ + Zu + Wpe + e (3-1)
where y is the vector of phenotypic records (SCR values), β is the vector of fixed
effects included in the model, u is the vector of random animal effects, pe is the vector
36
of random permanent environmental and non-additive effects, and e is the vector of
random residual effects. The matrices X, Z, and W are the incidence matrices relating
phenotypic records to fixed, animal, and permanent environmental effects, respectively.
In this context, the random effects are assumed to follow a multivariate normal
distribution,
�u
pee�𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2,𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 ,𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2� ∼ 𝑁𝑁 �0,�
K𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2 0 00 I𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 00 0 R𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2
�� (3-2)
where 𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2, 𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 , and 𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2 are the animal additive genetic, permanent environmental, and
residual variances respectively; K is a kinship matrix that can be calculated using either
pedigree or genotypic information, and R is typically an identity matrix (I) or a diagonal
matrix.
In this particular study, two alternative genome-wide association mapping
approaches were performed: (1) single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction
(ssGBLUP) and (2) classical genome-wide association study (cGWAS) using regular
single-marker regression analysis but with correction for population structure. The
ssGBLUP combines all the available phenotypic, pedigree and genotypic information,
and fits all the SNP simultaneously, while cGWAS typically uses only animals that have
both phenotypic and genotypic data, and fits the SNP markers one at a time.
Genome-Wide Association Mapping Using ssGBLUP
The ssGBLUP method is one of a group of statistical methods that were originally
developed for genomic prediction and later was extended for performing gene mapping.
Indeed, ssGBLUP model is a modification of the classical BLUP model where the
pedigree relationship matrix A is replaced by H which combines pedigree and genotypic
37
information (Aguilar et al., 2010). The combined pedigree-genomic relationship matrix
H−1 is calculated as follows,
H−1 = A−1 + �0 00 G1−1 − A22
−1� (3-3)
where G1−1 is the inverse of the genomic relationship matrix and A22−1 is the inverse of the
pedigree-based relationship matrix for genotyped animals. In this case, G1 has
dimensions 7,993 × 7,993 and it was created using the 7,447 sires with both SCR and
SNP data plus 546 genotyped sires with no SCR records. In addition, the A matrix
(25,075 × 25,075) was calculated based on a five generation pedigree downloaded
from AIPL-USDA website. The random effects were assumed multivariate normal with
u ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, H𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2), pe ∼ 𝑁𝑁�0, I𝑛𝑛𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 �, and e ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, Q𝑁𝑁−1𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2). Note that in this case the original
kinship matrix K is replaced by H, and the residual matrix R is the inverse of a diagonal
matrix Q with its elements representing the reliabilities of the SCR values. The
subscripts 𝑛𝑛 and 𝑁𝑁 indicate the size of the matrices and represent the number of
individuals with SCR records (𝑛𝑛 = 10,884) and the total number of SCR records(𝑁𝑁 =
44,449), respectively.
Candidate regions associated with sire fertility were identified based on the
amount of genetic variance explained by 1.5 Mb window of adjacent SNPs evaluated
across the entire bovine genome. Given the genomic estimated breeding values
(GEBVs), the SNP effects can be estimated as s� = DZ′[ZDZ′]−1a�g, where s� is the vector
of SNP marker effects, D is a diagonal matrix of weights of SNPs, and a�g is the vector of
GEBVs (Wang et al., 2012). The percentage of genetic variance explained by a given
1.5 Mb genomic region was then calculated as,
38
𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉(𝑢𝑢𝑖𝑖)𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2
× 100 =𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉�∑ 𝑍𝑍𝑗𝑗𝑠𝑠𝑗𝑗𝐵𝐵
𝑗𝑗=1 �𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2
× 100 (3-4)
where 𝑢𝑢𝑖𝑖 is the genetic value of the 𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑡ℎ genomic region under consideration, 𝐵𝐵 is the
total number of adjacent SNPs within the 1.5 Mb region, and 𝑠𝑠𝑗𝑗 is the marker effect of
the 𝑗𝑗𝑡𝑡ℎ SNP within the 𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑡ℎ region. All the ssGBLUP calculations were performed using
the BLUPF90 family of programs from Ignacy Misztal and collaborators, University of
Georgia.
Genome-Wide Association Mapping Using Single Marker Regression (cGWAS)
For the whole genome single marker regression, we extended the repeatability
model as,
y = Xβ + 𝑋𝑋𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 + Zu + Wpe + e (3-5)
where 𝑋𝑋𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 is the design matrix for the SNP under study (coded as 0, 1 or 2) and 𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 is
the regression coefficient or SNP effect (also known as the allele substitution effect). In
this particular case, the distribution of the random effects were assumed multivariate
normal with u ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, G2𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2), pe ∼ 𝑁𝑁�0, I𝑚𝑚𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 �, and e ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, I𝑀𝑀𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2). Here the original
kinship matrix K is replaced by G2 that is calculated based on the 7,447 sires that had
both SCR records and genotypic data. The subscripts 𝑚𝑚 and 𝑀𝑀 indicate the size of the
identity matrices and represent the number of individuals with SCR records (𝑛𝑛 = 7,447)
and the total number of SCR records (𝑁𝑁 = 32,590) used in this particular analysis.
Note that the extended repeatability model can be written as y = Xβ + 𝑋𝑋𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 +
ϵ, where ϵ ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, V) with V = ZG2𝑍𝑍′𝜎𝜎𝑢𝑢2 + WW′𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝2 + I𝑀𝑀𝜎𝜎𝑝𝑝2. In this scenario, the significant
effect of the SNP marker can be tested using a standard Wald statistics computed from
the ratio of the estimate of 𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 and its standard error. However, the application of this
39
test across the whole genome is computationally prohibitive. Alternatively, the
association of a given SNP with SCR can be evaluated in a more computationally
efficient way using the following test statistic,
𝑧𝑧 =XSNP′ Vo−1�y − Xβ��
�XSNP′ Vo−1XSNP
(3-6)
which approximates the Wald test, and hence, is asymptotically standard normal. Here,
Vo is computed as V but from a model where the term 𝑋𝑋𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 is removed, and β� is
obtained from the model y = Xβ + 𝑋𝑋𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆𝛽𝛽𝑆𝑆𝑁𝑁𝑆𝑆 + e, assuming e ∼ 𝑁𝑁(0, V𝑜𝑜σe2). These
analyses were performed using the R package RepeatABEL (Rönnegård et al., 2016)
Gene Set Analysis
The gene set analysis consists basically of three different steps (Gambra et al.,
2013; Peñagaricano et al., 2013): (i) the assignment of SNPs to genes, (ii) the
assignment of genes to functional categories, and (iii) the association analysis between
each functional category and the phenotype of interest.
1. The SNPs were assigned to bovine genes based on the UMD3.1 bovine genome sequence assembly (Zimin et al., 2009) using the Bioconductor R package biomaRt (Durinck et al., 2005; Durinck et al., 2009). A given SNP was assigned to a particular gene if it was located within the gene or within 15kb either upstream or downstream of the gene. An arbitrary threshold of P-value ≤ 0.01 was used to define significant SNPs (based on the results of the cGWAS); in this context, significant genes were defined as those genes that contained at least one significant SNP.
2. The databases Gene Ontology (GO) (Ashburner et al., 2000), and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) (Nelson et al., 2004; Cole et al., 2011) were used to define functional categories of genes. The idea is that genes assigned to the same functional category can be considered as members of a group of genes that share some particular properties, typically their involvement in the same biological or molecular process.
3. The significant association of a given term with SCR was analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. The P-value of observing 𝑔𝑔 significant genes in the term was calculated by
40
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉𝑃𝑃𝑢𝑢𝑃𝑃 = 1 −��𝑆𝑆𝑖𝑖� �
𝑁𝑁 − 𝑆𝑆𝑘𝑘 − 𝑖𝑖 �
�𝑁𝑁𝑘𝑘�
𝑔𝑔−1
𝑖𝑖=0
(3-7)
where 𝑆𝑆 is the total number of significant genes associated with SCR, 𝑁𝑁 is the total number of genes that were analyzed, and 𝑘𝑘 is the total number of genes in the term considered (Peñagaricano et al., 2013; Abdalla et al., 2016). The GO gene set enrichment analysis was performed using the R package goseq (using method hypergeometric) (Young et al., 2010) while the MeSH enrichment analysis was carried out using the R package meshr (Morota et al., 2015; Tsuyuzaki et al., 2015). Additionally, the semantic similarities among GO functional terms were calculated based on the GO hierarchy using the R package GOSemSim (Yu et al., 2010).
Results
Whole Genome Association Analysis
Two complementary genome-wide association approaches, ssGBLUP and
cGWAS, were performed in order to identify genomic regions and candidate genes
associated with bull fertility. These two alternative methods differ slightly in how they
identify significant regions or genes associated with the phenotype of interest. On the
one hand, ssGLUP allows identifying genomic regions that explain a given amount of
genetic variance. On the other hand, using cGWAS, it is possible to formally evaluate
the significance of the association (using a statistical test) between each genetic marker
and the phenotype of interest. In our study, these two methods yielded very similar
results; in fact, the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between the SNP effects
calculated with ssGLUP and cGWAS was equal to 0.943. In addition, the corresponding
Manhattan plots showed similar profiles with common significant regions in BTA21 and
also BTA25 (Figure 3-2). Note that, as expected, ssGBLUP yields less noisy results with
well-defined peaks across the entire genome.
41
Figure 3-2A displays the results obtained with ssGBLUP method in terms of the
proportion of genetic variance explained by 1.5 Mb SNP windows across the entire
bovine genome. A total of six different genomic regions, distributed on chromosomes
BTA5, BTA13, BTA21 and BTA25, explained more than 0.50% of the genetic variance
for sire conception rate. Figure 3-3 shows the genomic location, the percentage of
genetic explained, and the list of genes located in each of these SNP windows. The
region that explained the highest percentage of genetic variance (1.06%) was located
on chromosome 21 (21:8031396-9528223). Interestingly, this region harbors IGF1R, an
insulin-like growth factor receptor that plays critical roles in different reproductive
events, including testis development and spermatogenesis. Another SNP-window on
BTA21 (21:68,846,429-70,294,301) explained also a substantial amount of genetic
variance (0.82%); this region harbors two genes, TDRD9 and CKB, which are
implicated in sperm development and sperm quality, respectively. Moreover, two
different regions on BTA25 (25:3148958-4647188, and 25:26736589-28233820)
explained together almost 1.50% of the genetic variance. Notably, these regions harbor
several putative candidate genes for bull fertility, including MGRN1 and SEPT12, which
are directly involved in spermatogenesis, and CCT6A that is implicated in the
fertilization process. Finally, two genomic regions on BTA5 and BTA13 were also
identified; each of these windows explains roughly 0.60% of the genetic variance. The
region located on BTA5 (5:105357507-106813133) harbors two genes, PARP11 and
AKAP3, that are involved in sperm maturation and motility. In addition, at least two
putative genes related to male infertility, CTCFL and SPO11, are located in the middle
of the region detected on BTA13 (13:58456868-59951247).
42
Figure 3-2B displays the results obtained with cGWAS in terms of
−𝑃𝑃𝑙𝑙𝑔𝑔10(𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉𝑃𝑃𝑢𝑢𝑃𝑃) for each of the SNP markers evaluated across the genome. In addition,
Table 3-1 describes in detail the six most significant SNP markers detected in this
analysis (P-value ≤ 1.5E-05; q-value ≤ 0.15). The most significant SNP (BTB-01438088,
P-value = 5.1E-08) is located in BTA9 in an intron of the gene RIMS1. This gene
regulates synaptic vesicle exocytosis and is also involved in the regulation of voltage-
gated calcium channels. Unsurprisingly, the RIMS1 allele negatively associated with
conception rate is in very low frequency in the bull population (fB = 0.038). Two SNP
markers located in chromosome 25, BTA-59768-no-rs and ARS-BFGL-NGS-112660,
showed remarkable associations with sire conception rate (P-value = 2.8E-07). Note
that this genomic region (BTA25 26-28 Mb) was also detected using ssGLUP method.
The two significant markers were highly correlated (high linkage disequilibrium), and
therefore, it is very likely that they represent the same genetic signal. The marker BTA-
59768-no-rs is located in an intron of the gene KAT8. This gene encodes a histone
acetylase implicated in chromatin modification and gene expression regulation. Finally,
like ssGBLUP, the single marker regression also detected the region in BTA21 at 68-71
Mb as significantly associated with sire fertility (P-value = 1.4E-05). The significant SNP
marker ARS-BFGL-NGS-106232 is located within the gene BRF1, which encodes one
the subunits of the RNA polymerase III transcription factor complex, and hence, it is
directly involved in transcription initiation.
Gene Set Analysis
The whole-genome association analysis was complemented with a gene set
enrichment analysis in order to detect potential functional categories and molecular
mechanisms associated with sire fertility. Of the 58,029 SNP markers evaluated in the
43
analysis, 27,066 were located within or surrounding annotated genes; this set of SNPs
pointed to a total of 17,259 annotated genes. A subset of 349 of these 17,259 genes
had at least one SNP with P-value ≤ 0.01, and hence, were defined as significantly
associated with bull fertility.
Figure 3-4 displays a set of GO Biological Process terms that were significantly
enriched with genes associated with SCR. Noticeably, some of these terms are closely
associated with male fertility, such as reproduction process (GO:0022414) and
fertilization (GO:0009566). These two categories, highly related in the GO hierarchy,
had four significant genes in common, namely BSP3, BSP5, SLC22A16, and ZP2, all of
them directly involved in the process of spermatogenesis and subsequent ovum
fecundation. Furthermore, many significant GO terms were associated with ion transport
and homeostasis, including cation transport (GO:0006812), zinc II ion transport
(GO:0006829), regulation of sodium ion transport (GO:0002028), zinc ion homeostasis
(GO:0055069), and cellular metal ion homeostasis (GO:0006875). Moreover, terms
related to developmental biology (e.g. GO:0048588), small GTPase mediated signal
transduction (e.g. GO:0032482), and mRNA processing (e.g. GO:0050685) were also
enriched with significant genes.
Several GO terms classified into the Molecular Function domain showed an
overrepresentation of genes associated with sire fertility (Table 3-2). Especially,
functional terms related to channel regulation [e.g., calcium channel regulator activity
(GO:0005246, P-value = 0.020) and sodium channel regulator activity (GO:0017080, P-
value = 0.010)], and transmembrane transporter activity [e.g., inorganic cation
transmembrane transporter activity (GO:0022890, P-value = 0.009) and ion
44
transmembrane transporter activity (GO:0015075, P-value = 0.015)] showed an
overrepresentation of significant genes. Of particular interest, two closely related terms,
SNARE binding (GO:0000149, P-value = 0.007) and SNAP receptor activity
(GO:0005484, P-value = 0.003), which involve a group of membrane-associated
proteins that participate in different reproductive events including spermatogenesis and
acrosome reaction, were significantly enriched with at least three genes, STX1A,
STX1B and STX8, associated with sire conception rate.
Table 3-3 shows a panel of MeSH terms that were enriched with genes
associated with SCR. Many of these terms are closely related to male fertility, such as
spermatozoa (D013094), sperm capacitation (D013075), and sperm motility (D013081).
Five genes associated with SCR, namely AKAP3, BSP3, BSP5, NTRK2 and ZP2, were
part of these terms. Additionally, two other terms related to fertility, follicle stimulating
hormone (D005640) and pregnancy rate (D018873), were also enriched with significant
genes, including AKT1, CTTNBP2NL, FSHR and IGF1R. Finally, functional categories
involving protein kinases (D017868) and GTPases (D020691) were also detected as
significant in the MeSH-informed enrichment analysis.
Discussion
There is growing evidence that bull fertility is influenced by genetic factors. The
present study was specifically performed to unravel the genomic architecture underlying
sire conception rate, an accurate phenotypic measure of dairy sire fertility. Although
previous studies have attempted to identify potential genes and pathways related to
SCR (Peñagaricano et al., 2012a; Peñagaricano et al., 2013), this study has some
unique features, including the analysis of a large dataset including almost 11k bulls with
45
about 45k fertility records, the use of alternative methods for gene mapping, and the
application of novel gene set tools, such as MeSH enrichment analysis.
Many methods have been proposed to detect and localize genes underlying
complex traits. Given that there is no method that is clearly superior than the others, it is
recommended to combine multiple approaches in order to obtain more reliable findings
(Legarra et al., 2015). As such, two alternative whole genome scans were implemented
in this study, including a regular single marker regression (cGWAS) and a single-step
genomic prediction method (ssGLUP). It is worth noting that these two methods yielded
very similar results. In particular, both approaches have identified candidate genomic
regions in BTA21 and BTA25 that may be underlying the genetic variation in dairy sire
fertility.
The significant region in BTA21 located at 68-71 Mb (see Figure 3-2 and Figure
3-3) harbors at least two candidate genes, namely CKB and TDRD9 that might be
directly involved in sire fertility. Gene CKB encodes the enzyme creatine kinase, and
previous studies have reported that elevated levels of creatine kinase in the sperm are
associated with severe oligospermia and male infertility (Gergely et al., 1999). In fact,
some researchers have proposed that creatine kinase should be used as an indicator of
sperm quality and maturity in humans (Hallak et al., 2001). Similarly, gene TDRD9
encodes an helicase which plays an important role during spermatogenesis by silencing
potential transposable elements, and hence, protecting the integrity of the male
germline (Shoji et al.). Hence, our findings provide a foundation for future studies that
seek to decipher the specific roles of CKB and TDRD9 in bull fertility. No less important,
the results of ssGBLUP in BTA21 at 8-9 Mb strongly suggest IFGF1 as a candidate
46
gene for sire conception rate. This gene belongs to a family of insulin-like growth factors
that has important roles in sex determination, testis development, spermatogenesis and
steroidogenesis (Griffeth et al., 2014). Interestingly, IGF1R has been implicated in
regulating Sertoli cell proliferation and maturation, testis size, and sperm capacitation
(Pitetti et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2015). Therefore, our findings provide more evidence of
the association between IGF1R and male fertility.
Both ssGBLUP and cGWAS identified the region in BTA25 at 26-28 Mb as
significantly associated with SCR. This region harbors at least two genes, namely KAT8
and CCT6A, with potential roles in dairy sire fertility. The gene KAT8, a member of the
MYST histone acetyltransferase family, is highly expressed during sperm development
(Thomas et al., 2007), and it plays essential roles during early embryonic development
(Thomas et al., 2008). In addition, the gene CCT6A encodes a molecular chaperone
that mediates the sperm-ooctyte interaction during fertilization (Dun et al., 2011).
Moreover, the significant region detected in BTA25 but at 3-4 Mb also contains
candidate genes for bull fertility, such as SEPT12 and MGRN1. Indeed, SEPT12 is
expressed specifically in the testis and encodes a GTP-binding protein that has been
implicated in sperm morphogenesis, sperm motility and male infertility (Lin et al., 2009;
Kuo et al., 2015). Likewise, the gene MGRN1 is widely expressed in the male
reproductive system, and recent studies have shown that MGRN1 knockout in mice
results in male infertility, with disruption of hormones secretion and impaired sperm
motility (Cheng et al., 2014). It should be noted that this specific region in BTA25 had
been already associated with sire fertility (Peñagaricano et al., 2012a). Overall, our
findings provide further evidence for the presence of one or more genes that affect bull
47
fertility in these regions of BTA25. Additional functional studies, including resequencing
and fine mapping, are needed to decipher the roles that these genomic regions have in
male fertility.
Given that whole-genome scans only detect the most significant regions, and
these regions explain only a small fraction of the genetic variance, additional
approaches are needed in order to dissect the complex genetic architecture of a
quantitative trait. In the present study, different pathway-based approaches, using GO
and MeSH databases, were used in order to obtain additional insights regarding the
genetic determinants and biological mechanisms underlying sire fertility. Interestingly,
some biological processes directly related to male fertility, such as fertilization and
sperm motility, were among the most significant functional categories. Further analyses
revealed that at least six genes associated with SCR, including AKAP3, BSP3, BSP5,
NTRK2, SLC22A16, and ZP2, were part of these functional categories. Interestingly, the
gene AKAP3 is expressed in the spermatozoa and is involved in sperm motility, sperm
capacitation, and the acrosome reaction (Ficarro et al., 2003). In addition, the genes
BSP3 and BSP5 are two binder of sperm proteins implicated in sperm capacitation and
fertilization (Hung and Suarez, 2012). The gene ZP2 encodes a sperm receptor that
mediates gamete recognition during the fertilization (Avella et al., 2014). These findings
clearly demonstrate that gene set tools can greatly complement genome-wide
association studies in order to understand the genetic basis of complex traits.
Of special interest, GO molecular function terms related to SNARE proteins
showed an overrepresentation of significant genes. SNARE proteins are implicated in
membrane fusion events, including several events that occur during spermatogenesis
48
and also the acrosome reaction (Gamboa and Ramalho-Santos, 2005). In fact, it was
proposed that SNARE proteins are key players involved in controlling the acrosome
reaction during fertilization (Ramalho-Santos et al., 2002). Therefore, our findings
provide further evidence regarding the active role of SNARE proteins in male fertility. On
the other hand, several GO terms associated with ion transport and channel regulation
also showed a significant enrichment of genes associated with SCR. It is well-
documented that ion channels regulate several sperm physiological responses,
including maturation, motility, and chemotaxis (Lishko et al., 2012). Interestingly, most
of the significant terms were related to calcium transport and regulation, and several
studies have reported that calcium is indeed implicated in the regulation of sperm
motility, and it is an essential second messenger for the acrosome reaction (Darszon et
al., 2011). Therefore, our findings provide further evidence of the important association
between calcium and sperm physiology. More in general, note that the genetic markers
located in genes initially detected in our GO or MeSH-informed enrichment analysis
may facilitate the incorporation and implementation of genomic selection in commercial
breeding schemes.
Conclusion
In this study, a comprehensive genomic analysis was performed with the purpose
of unravelling the genetic architecture underlying sire conception rate in Holstein dairy
cattle. Genomic regions in BTA5, BTA9, BTA13, BTA15, BTA21 and BTA25 were
associated with sire fertility. Most of these regions harbor genes with known roles in
sperm biology, including sperm maturation, motility and fertilization. Moreover, gene set
analysis revealed that many of the significant terms, such as reproductive process,
calcium ion channels, and SNARE proteins, are implicated in biological processes
49
related to male fertility. Overall, this integrative study sheds light on the genetic variants
and mechanisms underlying this complex phenotype in cattle. In addition, these findings
can provide opportunities for improving bull fertility via marker-assisted selection.
50
Figure 3-1. Descriptive statistics for Sire Conception Rate (SCR): (A) Distribution of
SCR values per evaluation, and (B) Distribution of the number of SCR records per bull.
51
Figure 3-2. Manhattan plots showing the results of the genome-wide association
mapping for Sire Conception Rate: (A) Percentage of genetic variance explained by 1.5 Mb SNP windows across the genome (ssGBLUP method), and (B) −log10(Pvalue) for each of the genetic markers evaluated across the genome (cGWAS method).
52
Figure 3-3. Genomic regions (1.5 Mb) that explain more than 0.50% of the genetic
variance for Sire Conception Rate: genomic location, percentage of variance explained, and list of genes. Adapted from www.ensembl.org using bovine assembly UMD 3.1.
53
Figure 3-4. Gene Ontology Biological Process terms significantly enriched with genes
associated with Sire Conception Rate: (A) Name, total number of genes, P-value, and total number of significant genes per functional term, and (B) Semantic similarity among functional terms.
54
Table 3-1. Most significant genetic markers associated with Sire Conception Rate. Marker Chr Position Frequency β ± se P-value q-value Nearest
Gene BTB-01438088 9 11867269 0.038 -0.65 ±
0.12 5.1E-08 0.001 RIMS1
(within) BTB-01138539 15 26472899 0.815 0.26 ±
0.06 7.0E-06 0.102 CADM1
(22 kb) ARS-BFGL-NGS-106232
21 71210609 0.670 0.20 ± 0.05
1.4E-05 0.136 BRF1 (within)
BTA-59768-no-rs
25 27477941 0.266 -0.29 ± 0.06
2.7E-07 0.005 KAT8 (within)
ARS-BFGL-NGS-112660
25 27672891 0.266 -0.29 ± 0.06
2.8E-07 0.005 ITGAM (34 kb)
Hapmap8541-BTA-59825
25 28711626 0.150 -0.30 ± 0.07
1.4E-05 0.136 TYW1 (within)
55
Table 3-2. Gene Ontology (GO) Molecular Function terms significantly enriched with genes associated with Sire Conception Rate
GO ID MeSH Term Name No.
Genes
No.
Significant
Genes
P-value
GO:0000149 SNARE binding 20 3 0.007
GO:0005484 SNAP receptor activity 15 3 0.003
GO:0005246 calcium channel regulator
activity
11 2 0.020
GO:0016247 channel regulator activity 36 5 0.001
GO:0017080 sodium channel regulator activity 8 2 0.010
GO:0005385 zinc ion transmembrane
transporter activity
7 2 0.008
GO:0015075 ion transmembrane transporter
activity
188 9 0.015
GO:0022857 transmembrane transporter
activity
215 9 0.031
GO:0022890 inorganic cation transmembrane
transporter activity
116 7 0.009
GO:0019901 protein kinase binding 77 5 0.020
GO:0019899 enzyme binding 283 13 0.005
GO:0016772 transferase activity 197 10 0.007
GO:0016779 nucleotidyltransferase activity 46 5 0.002
56
Table 3-3. MeSH terms significantly enriched with genes associated with Sire Conception Rate (SCR).
Mesh Term ID
MeSH Term Name No. Genes No. Significant Genes
P-value
D005640 Follicle Stimulating Hormone
34 4 6.4E-03
D013075 Sperm Capacitation 9 2 1.6E-02 D013081 Sperm Motility 13 4 1.4E-04 D013094 Spermatozoa 71 5 2.0E-02 D017868 Cyclic AMP-
Dependent Protein Kinases
75 5 2.5E-02
D018698 Glutamic Acid 35 4 7.1E-03 D018873 Pregnancy Rate 4 2 2.8E-03 D020691 rab GTP-Binding
Proteins 12 3 2.0E-03
57
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Yi Han grew up in Harbin, a city in the north of China, where he attended school
finishing high school. For his undergraduate degree, he majors in animal sciences and
received his bachelor’s degree from China Agricultural University in the spring of 2014.
In 2014 fall, he entered University of Florida for a Master of Science program. In 2015
fall, he joined Dr. Peñagaricano’s lab focusing on quantitative genetics. Upon
graduation, he will continue his interests in biostatistics and work toward his doctoral
degree.