Open AccessGenome‐wide association mapping of heritable temperament variation in the T ennessee W alking H orse
Author(s) -
Staiger E. A.,
Albright J. D.,
Brooks S. A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
genes, brain and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1601-183X
pISSN - 1601-1848
DOI - 10.1111/gbb.12290
Subject(s) - temperament , agonistic behaviour , genome wide association study , genetics , trait , personality psychology , psychology , association (psychology) , breed , biology , developmental psychology , personality , aggression , social psychology , genotype , single nucleotide polymorphism , gene , computer science , psychotherapist , programming language
Temperament is a key criterion in the selection of horses for both leisure and competitive riding to ensure optimal performance and safety. The Tennessee Walking Horse ( TWH ) is described as a calm, docile breed and is often used as a trail, show and pleasure horse. However, among horse owners and caretakers, there are anecdotes supporting familial and disciplinal typical behaviors and personalities. To investigate the contribution of genetics to temperament, we collected a behavior questionnaire, brief training history and identifying information for 276 TWH , as well as blood or hair samples for DNA . Factor analysis was conducted on the 20‐item questionnaire for the set of 216 horses that met inclusion thresholds. Factor analysis identified four temperament factors in TWH : ‘anxious’, ‘tractable’, ‘agonistic’ and ‘gregarious’. These four factors account for 64% of the total trait variance. DNA from 113 TWHs were selected and genotyped using the Equine SNP70 bead chip for three separate genome‐wide association studies ( GWAs ) using the factor 1‐anxious, factor 2‐tractable and factor 3‐agonistic scores as the phenotype. Quantitative association analysis identified significant candidate loci for each factor that warrant further investigation.