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Domestication and selection are the major driving forces responsible for the determinative genetic variability in livestock. These selection patterns create unique genetic signatures within the genome. BovineSNP50 chip data from 236 animals (seven indicine and five taurine cattle breeds) were analyzed in the present study. We implemented three complementary approaches viz. iHS (Integrated haplotype score), ROH (Runs of homozygosity), and F ST , to detect selection signatures. A total of 179, 56, and 231 regions revealed 518, 277, and 267 candidate genes identified by iHS, ROH, and F ST methods, respectively. We found several candidate genes (e.g., NCR3 , ARID5A , HIST1H2BN , DEFB4 , DEFB7 , HSPA1L , HSPA1B, and DNAJB4) related to production traits and the adaptation of indigenous breeds to local environmental constraints such as heat stress and disease susceptibility. However, further studies are warranted to refine the findings using a larger sample size, whole-genome sequencing, and/or high density genotyping. • The combination of various statistical approaches could facilitate the wider spectrum of detection of both recent and ancient selection signatures. • The identified candidate genes provide insights into the adaptation and production performance of various cattle breeds. • Our observations can provide valuable knowledge for GWAS, genomic selection, implementing breeding schemes and conservation programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to assess the population structure and admixture levels in the Vrindavani composite population in India by using Bovine50KSNP BeadChip data. Genotypic data were generated for randomly selected animals (n = 72) of Vrindavani population and the data for parental breeds i.e., Hariana (n = 10), Holstein-Friesian (n = 63), Jersey (n = 28) and Brown Swiss (n = 22) were retrieved from a public repository. The indices of population structure were calculated using PLINK software and R-program. The merged dataset was analysed for assessing admixture levels and population stratification using three different approaches i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) approach and the model-based approach in STRUCTURE software. The average minor allele frequency (MAF) value for Vrindavani population was estimated to be 0.235. Vrindavani population was found to possess an average ancestry of 39.5, 22.9, 26.9, and 10.7% inheritance levels from Holstein Friesian, Jersey, Hariana and Brown Swiss cattle breeds, respectively. • We have got evidence of optimum applicability of Bovine 50 K SNP BeadChip data on crossbred population for admixture study • Admixture levels in Vrindavani crossbred population were calculated for the first time in the Indian context • The basic information generated in our study will help for characterization of other similar crossbreds of the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost of SNP genotyping to screen different breeds and to estimate the exact proportion of ancestry level is quite high, which can be compensated through deriving a small panel of ancestry informative markers (AIMs). Hence, we carried out the present study to provide an insight into ancestry level inferred from a panel of informative markers in the crossbred Vrindavani population developed at ICAR-IVRI, India. We have performed a new method i.e., discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) for the first time on the dataset of Vrindavani cattle. To confirm our method, we had performed DAPC on two other well-known crossbred cattle, i.e., Frieswal and Beefmaster. Three sets of panels (500, 1000 and 2000 markers) were tested for clustering of individuals. Among all the panels, we found the panel (1000 markers) with DAPC based contribution method was of the smallest size and comparatively of the highest accuracy. • The present study was carried out to infer ancestry level from a panel of informative markers in the crossbred population • The 1000 markers panel selected through DAPC based contribution method was the smallest and comparatively accurate • The information generated in our study will pave the way for characterization of other crossbreds available in the country [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]