AnimalGWASAtlas: annotation and prioritization of GWAS loci and quantitative trait loci for animal complex traits

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) and quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping methods provide valuable insights and opportunities for identifying functional gene underlying phenotype formation. However, the majority of GWAS risk loci and QTLs located in non-coding regions, posing significant challenges in pinpointing the protein-coding genes associated with specific traits. Moreover, growing evidence suggests not all GWAS risk loci and QTLs are functional, emphasizing the critical need for prioritizing causal sites-a task of paramount importance for biologists. The accumulation of publicly available multi-omics data provides an unprecedented opportunity to annotate and prioritize GWAS risk loci and QTLs.Therefore, we developed a comprehensive multi-omics database encompassing four major agricultural species-pig, sheep, cattle, and chicken. This database integrates publicly accessible datasets, including 140 GWAS studies (covering 471 traits), 2,625 QTL datasets (spanning 1,235 traits), 86 Hi-C datasets (from 8 cell/tissue types), 95 epigenomic datasets (from 4 cell/tissue types), and 769 transcription factor motifs. The database aims to link GWAS/QTL loci located in the non-coding regions to the target genes they regulate, and prioritize functional and causal regulatory elements. Ultimately, it provides a valuable resource and potential validation targets for elucidating the genes and molecular pathways underlying economically important traits in agricultural animals.