Using imputation-based whole-genome sequencing data to improve the accuracy of genomic prediction for combined populations in pigs

Abstract Background For genomic selection in populations with a small reference population, combining populations of the same breed or populations of related breeds is an effective way to increase the size of the reference population. However, genomic predictions based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-chip genotype data using combined populations with different genetic backgrounds or from different breeds have not shown a clear advantage over using within-population or within-breed predictions. The increasing availability of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data provides new opportunities for combined population genomic prediction. Our objective was to investigate the accuracy of genomic prediction using imputation-based WGS data from combined populations in pigs. Using 80K SNP panel genotypes, WGS genotypes, or genotypes on WGS variants that were pruned based on linkage disequilibrium (LD), three methods [genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), single-step (ss)GBLUP, and genomic feature (GF)BLUP] were implemented with different prior information to identify the best method to improve the accuracy of genomic prediction for combined populations in pigs. Results In total, 2089 and 2043 individuals with production and reproduction phenotypes, respectively, from three Yorkshire populations with different genetic backgrounds were genotyped with the PorcineSNP80 panel. Imputation accuracy from 80K to WGS variants reached 92%. The results showed that use of the WGS data compared to the 80K SNP panel did not increase the accuracy of genomic prediction in a single population, but using WGS data with LD pruning and GFBLUP with prior information did yield higher accuracy than the 80K SNP panel. For the 80K SNP panel genotypes, using the combined population resulted in a slight improvement, no change, or even a slight decrease in accuracy in comparison with the single population for GBLUP and ssGBLUP, while accuracy increased by 1 to 2.4% when using WGS data. Notably, the GFBLUP method did not perform well for both the combined population and the single populations. Conclusions The use of WGS data was beneficial for combined population genomic prediction. Simply increasing the number of SNPs to the WGS level did not increase accuracy for a single population, while using pruned WGS data based on LD and GFBLUP with prior information could yield higher accuracy than the 80K SNP panel.