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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Joint contributions of host genetics and heritable gut microbiota to semen quality variation in Duroc boars

  • Liangliang Guo1
  • Xinran Meng1
  • Quan Zhang1
  • Jiajian Tan2
  • Haiqing Sun2
  • Siwen Jiang3
  • Hongkui Wei1
  • Jian Peng1,4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
  2. 2YangXiang Joint Stock Company, Guigang, China
  3. 3Key Lab of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education & Key Lab of Swine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
  4. 4The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, China
  5. 5Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Wuhan, China
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Abstract

Host genetics and gut microbiota jointly influence host phenotypes. To investigate the genetic and microbial factors affecting boar semen quality, we analyzed whole-genome resequencing and fecal 16S rRNA sequencing data from 1128 Duroc boars. Gut microbiota profiling showed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were dominant phyla, while farm type, herd type, strain, and age significantly affected microbial composition. Genome-wide association analysis identified 32 significant SNPs associated with semen traits, and microbiome-wide association analysis detected 251 genus-level associations. Variance component analysis indicated that host genetics, gut microbiota, and their interactions contributed substantially to semen quality variation. Heritability analysis identified 73 heritable genera, and microbial GWAS further detected 242 SNPs associated with 18 heritable genera. Mendelian randomization analysis further supported a significant association between the heritable genus Intestinibacter and sperm motility. Notably, overlapping genomic regions on chromosome 10 were associated with both Intestinibacter abundance and sperm motility, suggesting that host genetic variation may influence semen quality directly or indirectly through modulation of heritable gut microbiota. These findings provide new insights into host genetics–microbiota interactions underlying boar semen quality.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{guo2026joint,
  title = {{Joint contributions of host genetics and heritable gut microbiota to semen quality variation in Duroc boars}},
  author = {Liangliang Guo and Xinran Meng and Quan Zhang and Jiajian Tan and Haiqing Sun and Siwen Jiang and Hongkui Wei and Jian Peng},
  journal = {NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41522-026-01073-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-026-01073-w},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Joint contributions of host genetics and heritable gut microbiota to semen quality variation in Duroc boars
AU  - Liangliang Guo
AU  - Xinran Meng
AU  - Quan Zhang
AU  - Jiajian Tan
AU  - Haiqing Sun
AU  - Siwen Jiang
AU  - Hongkui Wei
AU  - Jian Peng
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/15
JO  - NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes
DO  - 10.1038/s41522-026-01073-w
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-026-01073-w
AB  - Host genetics and gut microbiota jointly influence host phenotypes. To investigate the genetic and microbial factors affecting boar semen quality, we analyzed whole-genome resequencing and fecal 16S rRNA sequencing data from 1128 Duroc boars. Gut microbiota profiling showed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria were dominant phyla, while farm type, herd type, strain, and age significantly affected microbial composition. Genome-wide association analysis identified 32 significant SNPs associated with semen traits, and microbiome-wide association analysis detected 251 genus-level associations. Variance component analysis indicated that host genetics, gut microbiota, and their interactions contributed substantially to semen quality variation. Heritability analysis identified 73 heritable genera, and microbial GWAS further detected 242 SNPs associated with 18 heritable genera. Mendelian randomization analysis further supported a significant association between the heritable genus Intestinibacter and sperm motility. Notably, overlapping genomic regions on chromosome 10 were associated with both Intestinibacter abundance and sperm motility, suggesting that host genetic variation may influence semen quality directly or indirectly through modulation of heritable gut microbiota. These findings provide new insights into host genetics–microbiota interactions underlying boar semen quality.
SN  - 2055-5008
ER  -