This research aimed to identify genomic regions and positional candidate genes associated with bull fertility in beef cattle. A GWAS using a weighted single-step genomic BLUP approach was performed on 265 crossbred beef bulls to identify markers associated with scrotal circumference (SC) and sperm motility (SM). Eight windows (32 genes) and five windows (28 genes) explained >1% of genetic variance for SC and SM, respectively. Functional analysis revealed 14 prioritized genes for SC (including previously identified fertility genes MAP3K1 and VIP) and 14 for SM (including SOD2, TCP1, PACRG, SPEF2, PRLR). Significant enrichment for fertility and body conformation QTLs was observed. The identified regions contribute to understanding fertility traits and identifying candidate genes for further investigation.

H. Sweett, P. A. S. Fonseca, A. Suárez-Vega, A. Livernois, F. Miglior, A. Cánovas