Genetic Diversity and Selection Signatures of Two North American Corriente Cattle Herds in Northeastern New Mexico, United States

Abstract

The North American Corriente (NAC) is a Criollo-derived cattle breed raised primarily in the Southwestern and Great Plains regions of the United States for rodeo sports and beef production. Despite the substantial practical knowledge surrounding the breed, available information on the genomic makeup of NAC cattle remains limited. To address this gap, a comprehensive genomic analysis of two commercial NAC herds in northeastern New Mexico, United States, was conducted using a ~64 K SNP microarray. A total of 97 NAC cattle were initially sampled; after quality control, relatedness filtering, and population structure analysis, 52 animals were retained for downstream analysis. Population structure and admixture analyses point to a certain degree of genetic differentiation in the NAC population, which could be consistent with a distinct Criollo cattle lineage. This interpretation remains preliminary, however, and would benefit from additional sampling across independent and geographically representative herds. The overlap between functional enrichment results and known quantitative trait loci is consistent with the possibility that some genomic regions associated with movement, fertility, immune response, and carcass and milk traits may have been subject to selection. While informal, anecdotal observations of some of these phenotypic traits have been noted, further research with larger sample sizes and functional validation would be needed before drawing firmer conclusions. This study supports ongoing efforts to genetically characterize, promote, and conserve Criollo cattle populations across the Americas.