Genome-Wide Association Study of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity in Swedish-Born Icelandic Horses.
Abstract: Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common allergic skin disease in horses and is caused by biting midges, mainly of the genus Culicoides. The disease predominantly comprises a type I hypersensitivity reaction, causing severe itching and discomfort that reduce the welfare and commercial value of the horse. It is a multifactorial disorder influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, with heritability ranging from 0.16 to 0.27 in various horse breeds. The worldwide prevalence in different horse breeds ranges from 3% to 60%; it is more than 50% in Icelandic horses exported to the European continent and approximately 8% in Swedish-born Icelandic horses. To minimize the influence of environmental effects, we analyzed Swedish-born Icelandic horses to identify genomic regions that regulate susceptibility to IBH. We performed a genome-wide association (GWA) study on 104 affected and 105 unaffected Icelandic horses genotyped using Illumina® EquineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip. Quality control and population stratification analyses were performed with the GenABEL package in R (λ = 0.81). The association analysis was performed using the Bayesian variable selection method, Bayes C, implemented in GenSel software. The highest percentage of genetic variance was explained by the windows on X chromosomes (0.51% and 0.36% by 73 and 74 mb), 17 (0.34% by 77 mb), and 18 (0.34% by 26 mb). Overlapping regions with previous GWA studies were observed on chromosomes 7, 9, and 17. The windows identified in our study on chromosomes 7, 10, and 17 harbored immune system genes and are priorities for further investigation.
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Publication Date: 2015-05-29 PubMed ID: 26026046DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esv033Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article revolves around a genome-wide study that aimed to find a correlation between the genetic makeup of Swedish-born Icelandic horses and their susceptibility to Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH), a common allergic skin disease.
Introduction to the Subject Matter
- Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common allergic skin reaction experienced by horses due to bites from insects, particularly the Culicoides genus of midges. It is a Type I hypersensitivity reaction that leads to significant discomfort and itching, negatively affecting the horse’s quality of life and commercial value.
- The disease is multifactorial, meaning it is influenced by various genetic and environmental factors. Depending on the horse breed, the heritability ranges from 0.16 to 0.27, suggesting genes significantly contribute to IBH.
- The global prevalence of IBH differs across horse breeds, ranging from 3% to 60%. Icelandic horses, particularly those exported to the European continent, have a high IBH rate of over 50%. Contrastingly, Swedish-born Icelandic horses have a lower prevalence rate of approximately 8%.
Objectives and Methodology of the Study
- Under controlled environmental conditions, the study aimed to identify genomic regions that influence how susceptible Swedish-born Icelandic horses are to IBH.
- A total of 209 Icelandic horses – 104 affected by IBH and 105 unaffected – were analyzed using the Illumina® EquineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip, a high-resolution genetic tool.
- The researchers performed quality control and population stratification analyses using the GenABEL package in R with a population inflation factor of λ = 0.81.
- The association analysis was done using GenSel software’s Bayesian variable selection method, Bayes C.
Results and Conclusions
- The study suggests that the X chromosome’s genetic variance on windows 73 and 74 (0.51% and 0.36%, respectively) and chromosome 17 (0.34% on window 77 mb) and 18 (0.34% on window 26 mb) significantly influence the susceptibility of Icelandic horses to IBH.
- There were regions of overlap found with previous genome-wide association studies on chromosomes 7, 9, and 17, thereby strengthening the possibility of association between these genetic regions and IBH.
- The windows on chromosomes 7, 10, and 17 found in this study contained immune system genes that could potentially interact with IBH. These regions are earmarked for further focused research.
Cite This Article
APA
Shrestha M, Eriksson S, Schurink A, Andersson LS, Sundquist M, Frey R, Broström H, Bergström T, Ducro B, Lindgren G.
(2015).
Genome-Wide Association Study of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity in Swedish-Born Icelandic Horses.
J Hered, 106(4), 366-374.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esv033 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström).
- From the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Shrestha, Eriksson, Bergström, and Lindgren); Animal Breeding and Genomic Centre, Wageningen University, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands (Shrestha, Schurink, and Ducro); Capilet Genetics AB, SE-725 93 Västerås, Sweden (Andersson); Östra Greda Research Group, SE-387 91 Borgholm, Sweden (Sundquist); Norsholms Animal Hospital, SE-602 37 Norrköping, Sweden (Frey); and Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden (Broström). gabriella.lindgren@slu.se.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Bayes Theorem
- Breeding
- Ceratopogonidae
- Female
- Genetic Variation
- Genome-Wide Association Study
- Horse Diseases / genetics
- Horses / genetics
- Hypersensitivity, Immediate / genetics
- Hypersensitivity, Immediate / veterinary
- Iceland
- Insect Bites and Stings
- Male
- Models, Genetic
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Sequence Analysis, DNA
- Skin Diseases / genetics
- Skin Diseases / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Vostry L, Vostra-Vydrova H, Citek J, Gorjanc G, Curik I. Association of inbreeding and regional equine leucocyte antigen homozygosity with the prevalence of insect bite hypersensitivity in Old Kladruber horse.. Anim Genet 2021 Aug;52(4):422-430.
- Kvist L, Honka J, Niskanen M, Liedes O, Aspi J. Selection in the Finnhorse, a native all-around horse breed.. J Anim Breed Genet 2021 Mar;138(2):188-203.
- Meyermans R, Gorssen W, Buys N, Janssens S. How to study runs of homozygosity using PLINK? A guide for analyzing medium density SNP data in livestock and pet species.. BMC Genomics 2020 Jan 29;21(1):94.
- François L, Hoskens H, Velie BD, Stinckens A, Tinel S, Lamberigts C, Peeters L, Savelkoul HFJ, Tijhaar E, Lindgren G, Janssens S, Ducro BJ, Buys N, Schurink AA. Genomic Regions Associated with IgE Levels against Culicoides spp. Antigens in Three Horse Breeds.. Genes (Basel) 2019 Aug 8;10(8).
- Torsteinsdottir S, Scheidegger S, Baselgia S, Jonsdottir S, Svansson V, Björnsdottir S, Marti E. A prospective study on insect bite hypersensitivity in horses exported from Iceland into Switzerland.. Acta Vet Scand 2018 Nov 3;60(1):69.
- Schurink A, da Silva VH, Velie BD, Dibbits BW, Crooijmans RPMA, Franҫois L, Janssens S, Stinckens A, Blott S, Buys N, Lindgren G, Ducro BJ. Copy number variations in Friesian horses and genetic risk factors for insect bite hypersensitivity.. BMC Genet 2018 Jul 30;19(1):49.
- Velie BD, Shrestha M, Franҫois L, Schurink A, Tesfayonas YG, Stinckens A, Blott S, Ducro BJ, Mikko S, Thomas R, Swinburne JE, Sundqvist M, Eriksson S, Buys N, Lindgren G. Using an Inbred Horse Breed in a High Density Genome-Wide Scan for Genetic Risk Factors of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH).. PLoS One 2016;11(4):e0152966.
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