Background: Saryarka sheep belong to fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep breed. This breed is distinguished by increased meat productivity while being competitive in young lamb production. Live weight and body indices are relevant data for assessing sheep body constitution, which directly affects the breeding characteristics and meat productivity of animals. Objectives: This study aimed to find associations with SNPs and nine phenotypic characteristics of the Saryarka fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep breed including live weight and eight body indices (wither height, rump height, bicoastal diameter, body depth, body length, rump width, heart girth, and cannon bone circumference), and find candidate genes related to these characteristics. Methods: A total of 100 animals from the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan were used in this study. Live weight and eight body indices of sheep were measured using tape and electronic scales. The blood samples of the animals were used for DNA extraction. DNA samples were genotyped with the OvineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip and analyzed using GWAS. Statistically significant SNPs were identified for each characteristic trait referencing the genome of Ovis aries (Oar_v3.1) using BioMart. Results: The GWAS results demonstrated a substantial chromosomal-level correlation between 32 chromosome-wide significant and suggestively significant SNPs in the studied sheep breed. Overall, seven SNPs located in seven different genes were revealed as candidates for live weight and four body indices: s20793.1 SNP in the IGFBP6 gene for live weight, OAR4_54217431.1 SNP in the ST7 gene for bicoastal diameter, s25229.1 in the SCD5 gene, and s01175.1 SNP in the DTNBP1 gene for rump width, OAR2_175574781.1 SNP in the KYNU gene for heart girth, and OAR1_209022621.1 SNP in the FGF12 gene and s15415.1 SNP in the FTO gene for cannon bone circumference. Some of these genes were previously reported to be involved in body constitution and fat deposit in other sheep breeds. Conclusions: The results of the present study open up new opportunities for targeted sheep breeding for meat and fat productivity.

Increasing the fertility of sheep remains one of the crucial issues of modern sheep breeding. The Kazakh meat–wool sheep is an excellent breed with high meat and wool productivity and well adapted to harsh conditions. Nowadays, runs of homozygosity (ROHs) are considered a suitable approach for studying the genetic characteristics of farm animals. The aims of the study were to analyze the distribution of ROHs, describe autozygosity, and detect genomic regions with high ROH islands. In this study, we genotyped a total of 281 Kazakh meat–wool sheep using the Illumina iScan^® system (EquipNet, Canton, MA, USA) via Ovine SNP50 BeadChip array. As a results, a total of 15,069 ROHs were found in the three Kazakh meat–wool sheep populations. The mean number of ROH per animal across populations varied from 40.3 (POP1) to 42.2 (POP2) in the category 1+ Mb. Furthermore, the number of ROH per animal in ROH_{1–2 Mb} were much higher than ROH_{2–4 Mb} and ROH_{8–16 Mb} in the three sheep populations. Most of individuals had small number of ROH_{>16 Mb}. The highest and lowest genomic inbreeding coefficient values were observed in POP2 and POP3, respectively. The estimated F_ROH presented the impact that recent inbreeding has had in all sheep populations. Furthermore, a set of interesting candidate genes (BMP2, BMPR2, BMPRIB, CLOCK, KDM2B, TIAM1, TASP1, MYBPC1, MYOM1, and CACNA2D1), which are related to the productive traits, were found. Collectively, these findings will contribute to the breeding and conservation strategies of the Kazakh meat–wool sheep breed.

Sheep breeding is an important sector of livestock production in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep holds a prominent position among local breeds due to its high meat productivity, resilience to extreme climatic conditions, and efficient use of pasture resources. This study focuses on the analysis of runs of homozygosity (ROH) to evaluate the genetic diversity level, inbreeding and to detect selection signatures in the Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep breed. A total of 500 animals were genotyped using the OvineSNP50 BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). As a result, a total of 41,728 ROH segments were identified, with an average length of 1.59 Mb, distributed across the entire genome. The most prominent homozygous regions were detected on chromosomes OAR10, OAR13, and OAR22, which might be associated with selection signatures. Genomic inbreeding coefficients (F_ROH and F_GRM) showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.58, p < 0.001), supporting the effectiveness of ROH-based analysis. Several candidate genes were detected, including MYF5, PRDM16, TGM3, SLC26A4 and SMAD5 which are notably involved in muscle formation, wool traits, and fat metabolism. The findings have substantial practical value for breeding programs and for managing genetic diversity in sheep farming enterprises in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Background: In Kazakhstan, there is a notable demand for fat-tail sheep breeds in both domestic and international markets, which has led to the prioritization of certain breeds for breeding purposes. Among the various sheep breeds raised in the desert and semi-desert regions of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep is particularly valued for its production of high-quality mutton. Objective: This study aimed to identify genomic regions and candidate genes associated with body conformation traits in this breed using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Methods: A GWAS was performed on 295 Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool using OvineSNP50 Genotyping BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). Results: After quality control, 41,912 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) remained for analysis. Several loci showed suggestive associations (p < 1 × 10⁻⁵) with growth traits. These included s23127.1 and OAR6_56152225.1 for live weight; s08490.1 for chest width; s22731.1 for oblique length; OAR10_1168444.1 for cannon bone circumference; and s58409.1 for both rump height and withers height. Candidate genes near these loci encompassed VCAN, NEK1, NRG1, ADAM12, ERBB4, RUNX1T1, and PDGFD. Conclusion: Thus, these genetic variations have the potential to serve as candidate markers for MAS targeting body conformation traits in Kazakh fat-tailed coarse-wool sheep.

Camels have been essential to human survival and development across the arid Central Asian steppes, particularly in Kazakhstan, where the breeding of one-humped and two-humped camels is a longstanding tradition supporting the nomadic lifestyle. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of these camels across their distribution range in Kazakhstan. Blood samples from 100 individuals were collected from five locations, Almaty (ALA), Atyrau (ATR), Shymkent (SHK), Kyzylorda (KZL), and Taraz (TRZ), and genotyped using 17 microsatellite markers. All loci were polymorphic, with a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.707 in C. dromedarius and 0.643 in C. bactrianus. The highest expected heterozygosity (He = 0.939) was observed at VOLP67 in C. bactrianus and at VOLP03 in C. dromedarius. Genetic differentiation was low (FST = 0.021), indicating a weak population structure between the two species with substantial gene flow (Nm = 19.972). The hybrid analysis identified 31% hybrids, including F1, F2, and backcrosses, with the highest frequencies in KZL and TRZ, moderate frequencies in ATR, and lowest frequencies in SHK and ALA. These patterns, consistent with STRUCTURE clustering, reflect widespread but regionally variable hybridization. The phylogenetic analysis revealed three clades, separating Bactrian camels (ALA), dromedaries (SHK), and a hybrid group (ATR, KZL, and TRZ). These findings enhance our understanding of the genetic diversity of Kazakhstan’s camels and support effective conservation, breeding strategies, and genotyping applications in camel husbandry.

Introduction.Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial condition in which the interaction between environmental factors and genetic predisposition plays a key role in disease pathogenesis. Of particular importance is the study of genetic polymorphisms in cytokine genes that regulate the inflammatory response, especially under conditions of occupational exposure to dust aerosols.Objective.To identify genetic polymorphisms in interleukin genes associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in miners exposed to dust aerosols.Methods.This study included 89 miners with clinically confirmed COPD and 100 coal mine workers without respiratory pathology. Results.The analysis identified polymorphisms significantly associated with an increased risk of COPD development: rs1143633 of the IL1Bgene (OR=1.59; 95% CI: 1.03–2.46; p=0.04), rs1524107 of the IL6gene (OR=2.41; 95% CI: 1.40–4.16; p=0.001), and rs2066992 (OR=2.02; 95% CI: 1.19–3.41; p= 0.008). Genotype analysis demonstrated significantassociations for heterozygous variants of rs1143633 (OR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.08–3.43), rs1524107 (OR=2.32; 95% CI: 1.18–4.54), and rs2066992 (OR=1.80; 95% CI: 0.95–3.44), suggesting a possible dominant or overdominant effect of the alleles.Conclusion.The findings indicate a substantial contribution of genetic factors related to inflammatory response regulation in the development of COPD susceptibility among miners. The identified polymorphisms may serve as potential molecular genetic markers of risk and could be applied in developing personalized strategies for prevention and early diagnosis of occupational respiratory diseases.Key words:COPD, genetic polymorphism, interleukins, coal dust, miners.