A genome-wide SNPs searching using the Illumina BeadChip in Jalgin Merino sheep breed

The massive implementation of genotyping by sequencing method (GBS) in Jalgin Merino sheep breed, requires the identification of loci in the genome with a sufficient frequency of occurrence in the population. To identify them, genotyping of Jalgin Merino sheep was carried out using Ovine Infinium HD BeadChip 600K. As a result of polymorphism evaluation of 606 000 loci, 729 SNPs were selected with a frequency of occurrence of homozygous variants in the range of 0.2850-0.3149. After excluding substitutions located closer than one centimorganide, a list of 468 polymorphisms was obtained. The selected substitutions were located on all 26 autosomes. The greatest number of polymorphisms were on the first three chromosomes. The least substitutions were found on chromosomes 24, 25, and 26. Only one substitution with the required frequency of occurrence was identified on the X chromosome. The average distance between SNPs was 3200 to 7000 kbp. The list of selected polymorphisms can be used to confirm the reliability of the origin in the molecular genetic examination of sheep of the Jalgin Merino breed.