{
  "abstract": "Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are one of the main constraints affecting sheep production worldwide. For decades, control methods based on anthelmintics have been extensively used, which ended up in multiple drug‐resistant helminth strains. Selective breeding for disease resistance is a long‐term and sustainable strategy to improve animal health, welfare and productivity. Therefore, we performed a genome‐wide association study using a customized SNP panel to identify genomic regions and molecular mechanisms associated with GIN resistance/susceptibility among Portuguese Merino and Merino‐related sheep. Two SNPs located within centromere protein K (chr 16; 14 439 999 bp) and NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex assembly factor 2 (chr 16; 19 366 442 bp) genic regions reached genome‐wide Bonferroni significance (p = 2.08 × 10−6). Additionally, five genome‐wide suggestive SNPs were detected within genic regions of adenomatous polyposis coli regulator of WNT signaling pathway (chr 7; 1 050 994 bp), regulator of G protein signaling 8 (chr 12; 68 278 650 bp) and hypoxia inducible factor 3 subunit alpha (chr 14; 57 059 428 bp), as well as in intergenic regions near calcium binding and coiled‐coil domain 1 and ATP synthase membrane subunit C locus 2 (chr 3 142 391 546 bp) and semaphorin‐6D (chr 7; 65 321 727 bp). Candidate genes located in these regions are involved in intestinal homeostasis, epithelial barrier reinforcement, and regulatory mechanisms of immune response. These results provide new and useful information about the genetic architecture underlying GIN infection in Portuguese Merino sheep. Further analyses are needed to validate these SNPs and assess their contribution to selection strategies focused on breeding animals with enhanced GIN resistance.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto Porto Portugal",
    "Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e Agro‐Alimentar Do Alentejo (CEBAL)/Universidade Politécnica de Beja (UPBeja) Beja Portugal",
    "BIOPOLIS/CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBio Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto Vairão Portugal",
    "Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária CIISA, Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Universidade de Lisboa Lisboa Portugal",
    "Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária E Veterinária, I.P. (INIAV, I.P.) Oeiras Portugal",
    "Escola Universitária Vasco da Gama Lordemão, Coimbra Portugal",
    "MED – Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development and CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, CEBAL – Centro de Biotecnologia Agrícola e Agro‐Alimentar do Alentejo Beja Portugal",
    "MED – Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development and CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, University of Évora Évora Portugal",
    "ACOS – Agricultores do Sul Beja Portugal",
    "Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Évora University Évora Portugal"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 14,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Daniel Gaspar",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4948-5662"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Catarina Ginja",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2278-7089"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Nuno Carolino",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9079-7380"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Célia Leão"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Helena Monteiro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Lino Tábuas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Sandra Branco",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2987-0854"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Pedro Caetano",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0271-0412"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ricardo Romão"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Claudino Matos"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Elisa Bettencourt"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "António Marcos Ramos"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ana Usié",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3364-9434"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Ludovina Padre",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2128-3818"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/49cn5tz6tchp8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1002/age.70218",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13732543/",
  "id": "49cn5tz6tchp8",
  "issns": [
    "0268-9146",
    "1365-2052"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/age.70218",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Helminth infection and control"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7225233909",
  "pdf_url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/age.70218",
  "pmcid": "PMC13732543",
  "pmid": "42979742",
  "published": "2026-11-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/49cn5tz6tchp8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:22:30Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13732543",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1002/age.70218"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Helminth infection and control",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Genome‐Wide Analysis of Resistance to Gastrointestinal Parasites in Portuguese Merino and Merino‐Related Sheep",
  "title_text": "Genome‐Wide Analysis of Resistance to Gastrointestinal Parasites in Portuguese Merino and Merino‐Related Sheep",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:22:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/49cn5tz6tchp8",
  "venue": "Animal Genetics",
  "versions": []
}