Whole genome sequences of 297 Duolang sheep for litter size.

Litter size is a critical economic trait in the sheep industry. Like many other breeds, Duolang sheep typically produce one lamb per ewe per lambing. To date, genetic studies of this trait in that breed have largely relied on candidate gene approaches. To expand the genomic resources for this breed, we sequenced 297 genomes, generating approximately 10.52 trillion bases with an average coverage of 13.35X. High-quality alignments with a mapping rate exceeding 99% enabled the identification of 43,968,128 SNPs and 6,504,047 InDels. This dataset provides a valuable resource for identifying genetic variants associated with litter size through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and lays the foundation for future genetic improvement efforts through genomic selection in Duolang sheep. Beyond trait mapping, the dataset also supports broader applications, including analyses of genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, population history, adaptive introgression, and breed-specific characteristics. Additionally, the moderate-coverage WGS data are suitable for structural variant (SV) detection and downstream analyses such as association mapping and the identification of SVs underlying phenotypic traits.