9th International Deer Biology Congress

AUTHORS: Spencer J. Anderson, Department of Environmental & Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada; Steeve D. Côté, Julien H. Richard – Département de biologie and Centre d’études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Aaron B. A. Shafer, Department of Environmental & Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada

ABSTRACT: Antler size of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a trait that is controlled by a variety of factors including nutrition, age, and host genetics [1]. As white-tailed deer are an intensively managed and hunted species, understanding the underlying genetic factors associated with variation in phenotypes can provide information for managers to target in the optimization of traits such as antler size. We used genomic techniques that utilized pooled whole genome re- sequencing of individuals representing extreme antler phenotypes to identify quantitative trait loci of large effect across the entire genome. Samples were selected from a database containing phenotypic data for 3974 male white-tailed deer from Anticosti Island, Quebec, with DNA from the top individuals for large and small antlers being combined in equal quantities in two representative pools. Sequencing for each pool was performed on the Illumina HiSeq-X platform for overall coverage of 50x per pool. As expected the genome-wide analysis revealed a largely homogenous genome, but also detected significant and highly diverged regions between large and small antler pools [2]; these regions represent putative antler genes. We have identified and will discuss the underlying genes of interest that are related to extreme antler phenotypes.