Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41617692›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Phased-assembly-driven pangenome graphs for structural variant genotyping and complex trait mapping in dairy cattle.

Liu Yang, Yahui Gao, Kristen L Kuhn, Nayan Bhowmik, Wenli Li, Geoffrey Zanton, Lingzhao Fang, John B Cole, Congjun Li, Ransom L Baldwin Vi and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
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  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Liu YangAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4179-8587
Yahui GaoAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Kristen L KuhnUSDA, ARS, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), Clay Center, NE, USA.ORCID 0009-0009-9498-8788
Nayan BhowmikAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Wenli LiUS Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA-ARS, Madison, WI, USA.
Geoffrey ZantonUS Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA-ARS, Madison, WI, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6946-540X
Lingzhao FangQuantitative Genetics and Genomics (QGG), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-1103-3679
John B ColeCouncil on Dairy Cattle Breeding, 4201 Northview Dr, Bowie, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1242-4401
Congjun LiAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.
Ransom L Baldwin ViAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0753-4377
Curtis P Van TassellAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8416-2087
Benjamin D RosenAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9395-8346
Li MaDepartment of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1038-1081
Timothy P L SmithUS Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA-ARS, Madison, WI, USA. tplsmith@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0003-1611-6828
George E LiuAnimal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, USA. George.Liu@usda.gov.ORCID 0000-0003-0192-6705

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Structural variants are an underexplored source of genetic diversity. As part of the FarmGTEx Project, here we report a Holstein breed-specific pangenome graph (H20D) using Minigraph-Cactus and 40 phased haploid assemblies from 20 cows. H20D outperforms both assembly- and read-based long-read callers, and far exceeds short-read approaches, identifying over 10,000 additional structural variants per sample. It also significantly improves structural variant detection and genotyping relative to graphs built across breeds or from fewer/unphased assemblies, with particular advantages in complex regions. Using H20D, we genotype variants in 173 cattle and performed a GWAS, where a larger fraction of structural variants than SNPs reach genome-wide significance, implicating them as potential causal variants. Together, these results demonstrate the power of phased, within-breed pangenome graphs for accurate SV genotyping and trait mapping in dairy cattle.

Indexed as

Chromosome MappingGenomeGenotyping TechniquesAnimalsBreedingCattleDairyingFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyGenotypePolymorphism, Single NucleotideQuantitative Trait Loci

Identifiers

PMID41617692
PMCPMC12960718

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.