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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Candidate functional variants in TBXT, HOXB13, and PDGFD associated with tail morphology in Chinese sheep for marker-assisted selection

Sha Zeng1, 2*, Benmeng Liang1*, Wanmei Luo3, Yuhetian Zhao1,4, Sijia Ma5, Yabin Pu1, 4, Yuehui Ma1, 4, Jiangang Han1, 4#, Lin Jiang1, 4#

1 State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100091, China

2 United Graduate School of Chinese Modern Agriculture (UGSCMA), Henan 450002, China

3 Institute of Livestock and Veterinary Research (ILVR), Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region 850004, China

4 National Germplasm Center of Domestic Animal Resources, Ministry of Technology, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100091, China;

5 China Agricultural University, Beijing 100091, China

 Highlights 

1. High-depth whole-genome resequencing of 23 Chinese sheep breeds reveals the genetic architecture underlying tail phenotypic variation.

2. Canonical missense variants in TBXT, HOXB13, and PDGFD are associated with tail morphology, tail length, and posterior fat deposition, respectively.

3. Functional validation demonstrates a dual regulatory role of PDGFD in coordinating cell proliferation, migration, and adipogenic differentiation.

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摘要  

长期自然选择与人工选择双重压力,不同绵羊群体表现出脂尾、瘦尾和脂臀等三类主要尾型特征。然而,目前关于尾遗传机制研究多集中于单一基因或单一性状维度,缺乏系统性解析。本研究基于高深度全基因组重测序数据,对中国绵羊23群体从尾的有无、尾长变异与尾脂沉积三个角度开展针对性分析,通过整合全基因组选择信号分析、精准定位以及扩群验证鉴定到与尾形成相关 TBXTC/A)、与尾长调控相关 HOXB13C/G),以及与尾部脂肪沉积相关 PDGFDG/A非同义突变,这些位点的优势单倍型组合C-G-GC-C-GA-AC-G-A C-C-A分别在长细尾、短细尾、脂臀、长脂尾和短脂尾群体中显著富集。此外,功能验证结果表明,PDGFD基因在调控细胞增殖与脂肪分化平衡过程中发挥重要作用。这些结果加深了我们对多基因协同调控绵羊尾型变异遗传机制的理解,并为绵羊尾型遗传改良和分子设计育种提供关键靶点



Online: 18 March 2026  
Fund: 

This project was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2022YFF1000104-3 and 2022YFD1300201), the Basic Science Center Program of the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-CSAB-202402), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution (Y2025YC50), the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (grant no. nyb-tx-15), and the Key Research Program in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (grant no. 2023BCF01007). Sha Zeng was supported by the United Graduate School of Chinese Modern Agriculture (UGSCMA) program.

About author:  Sha Zeng, E-mail: summer0637@163.com; Benmeng Liang, E-mail: 18812109228@163.com #Correspondence Lin jiang, E-mail: jianglin@caas.cn; Jiangang Han E-mail: jiangang_han@163.com * These authors contributed equally to this work.

Cite this article: 

Sha Zeng, Benmeng Liang, Wanmei Luo, Yuhetian Zhao, Sijia Ma, Yabin Pu, Yuehui Ma, Jiangang Han, Lin Jiang. 2026. Candidate functional variants in TBXT, HOXB13, and PDGFD associated with tail morphology in Chinese sheep for marker-assisted selection. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2026.03.036

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