{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:06:58Z","timestamp":1788854818766,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788825600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Animal Genetics"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Wattles are finger\u2010like appendages on the ventral neck of goats, serving as a distinctive morphological marker for breed identification that serves potential implications for production performance. However, their genetic basis remains incompletely characterized. Here, we integrated a genome\u2010wide association study (GWAS) and selection signature analysis to identify candidate genes and genomic regions associated with the wattle trait in goats. Using a linear mixed model, GWAS on 463 goats (23 wattled and 440 non\u2010wattled) identified 385 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) at a 5% false discovery rate, yielding 346 candidate genes. The most significant association signal was observed on chromosome 10 (72.61\u201373.48\u2009Mb), where the lead SNP (rs636481767) is located within a region containing\n GJD2<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n GREM1<\/jats:italic>\n , and\n FMN1<\/jats:italic>\n , showing strong linkage disequilibrium (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n \u2009>\u20090.6) with surrounding loci. Subsequent selection signature analysis (23 wattled and 23 non\u2010wattled) identified 83 genomic regions harboring 119 candidate genes. The strongest signals were detected at\n MFSD14B<\/jats:italic>\n on chromosome 8 (\n F<\/jats:italic>\n ST<\/jats:sub>\n \u2009=\u20090.154, log\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n \u03c0\u2010ratio\u2009=\u20092.611) and\n PDLIM7<\/jats:italic>\n on chromosome 7 (\n F<\/jats:italic>\n ST<\/jats:sub>\n \u2009=\u20090.144, log\n 2<\/jats:sub>\n \u03c0\u2010ratio\u2009=\u20090.806). KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that GWAS\u2010associated genes were involved in glycosylation and immune responses, whereas selection\u2010signature genes were enriched in DNA repair and the Hippo, Notch, and Wnt pathways. Furthermore, cross\u2010species PheWAS revealed that human\n FMN1<\/jats:italic>\n is associated with dermatological, skeletal, and metabolic phenotypes, while porcine\n FMN1<\/jats:italic>\n is associated with backfat thickness and loin muscle depth. Overall, this study provides molecular markers of potential value for goat breeding and pinpoints key candidate genes for future functional validation of wattle development.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/age.70198","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T07:12:26Z","timestamp":1788851546000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Integrated Genome\u2010Wide Association Studies and Selection Signature Analysis Reveal the Genetic Architecture of the Wattle Trait in Goats"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"57","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-7490-2941","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Siyi","family":"Hu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences Guangdong Ocean University Zhanjiang Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5776-0500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chen","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences Guangdong Ocean University Zhanjiang Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-5853-4585","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Da","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences Guangdong Ocean University Zhanjiang Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2880-7677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shangquan","family":"Gan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences Guangdong Ocean University Zhanjiang Guangdong China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","first-page":"68","article-title":"Effect of Some Qualitative Traits and Non\u2010Genetic Factors on Heat Tolerance Attributes of Extensively Reared West African Dwarf (WAD) Goats","volume":"8","author":"Adedeji T. 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