{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T15:56:36Z","timestamp":1791474996514,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791244800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791244800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Hexi Cattle Genomic Breeding Technology Research and Application Program","award":["HXNYZ-2026-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HXNYZ-2026-01"]}]},{"name":"National Beef Cattle and Yak Industrial Technology System","award":["CARS-36"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-36"]}]},{"name":"Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Commissioner Special Project","award":["24CXNA051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24CXNA051"]}]},{"name":"Zhangjiachuan Technology Guidance and Innovation Program","award":["ZC-STK-2024A-020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ZC-STK-2024A-020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hexi cattle are an indigenous beef population developed through multigenerational crossing of Simmental and Mongolian cattle, exhibiting exceptional adaptability to arid and semi-arid environments alongside robust growth performance. To investigate the genetic architecture underlying early growth traits, we conducted a GWAS for body weight (BW), withers height (WH), body length (BL), and heart girth (HG) in a cohort of 264 Hexi cattle (125 males, 139 females). Phenotypic analyses showed that male calves had significantly higher values for all traits relative to female calves (p &lt; 0.05), confirming the presence of sexual dimorphism. The genomic inflation factors (\u03bb = 0.997\u20131.016) indicated that population structure was effectively controlled. In total, 11 functional candidate genes were identified under the genome-wide significant threshold of p &lt; 1.0 \u00d7 10\u22126. Specifically, SLC44A1 associated with BW; PTGS2, POP1, and ERC2 with WH; TIAM1, PROK1, SMOC2, and RFFL with BL; and C3orf80, PROKR1, and FBXO32 with HG. These results not only advance our understanding of the genetic regulation of early development in Hexi cattle but also establish a foundation for implementing marker-assisted and genomic selection in this population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16193133","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T14:28:05Z","timestamp":1791296885000},"page":"3133","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Genome-Wide Association Study of Body Measurement Traits at Birth in Cattle"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4868-2234","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinlu","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou 730050, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 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China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5659-4341","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yongfu","family":"La","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou 730050, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2390-4777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xian","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou 730050, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ping","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou 730050, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730050, 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