Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Analysis of the Ovaries of High and Low Egg Production Chickens.

Egg production is a pivotal indicator for evaluating the fertility of poultry, and the ovary is an essential organ for egg production and plays an indispensable role in poultry production and reproduction. In order to investigate different aspects of egg production mechanisms in different poultry, in this study we performed a metabolomic analysis of the transcriptomic combination of the ovaries of two chicken breeds, the high-production Ninghai indigenous chickens and the low-production Wuliangshan black-boned chickens, to analyze the biosynthesis and potential key genes and metabolic pathways in the ovaries during egg production. We predicted four genes in the transcriptomic that are associated with egg production, namely P2RX1, INHBB, VIPR2, and FABP3, and identified three important pathways during egg production, "Calcium signaling pathway", "Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction" and "Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction", respectively.

Ovarian Transcriptomic Analysis of Ninghai Indigenous Chickens at Different Egg-Laying Periods.

Egg production is an essential indicator of poultry fertility. The ovary is a crucial organ involved in egg production; however, little is known about the key genes and signaling pathways involved in the whole egg-laying cycle of hens. In order to explore the mechanism of egg production at different stages of the egg-laying process, ovarian tissues from four chickens were randomly selected for transcriptome analysis at each of the three ages (145 d, 204 d, and 300 d in the early, peak, and late stages of egg laying).

Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of mRNA and lncRNA of Ovaries in High and Low Egg Production Performance in Domestic Pigeons ().

Egg production performance is one of the most important economic traits in pigeon industry. However, little is known regarding how egg production performance is regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in pigeons. To evaluate the lncRNAs and mRNAs in ovaries associated with egg production performance in domestic pigeons, high-throughput RNA sequencing of ovaries between high and low egg production performance groups were performed and analyzed in this study.

Chronological Expression of and Genes and the Association between Their Polymorphisms and Chicken Meat Quality Traits.

Meat quality is closely related to the development of skeletal muscle, in which and genes play important regulatory roles. The present study firstly provided the data of chronological expression files of and genes in the post-hatching pectoral muscle and analyzed the association of their polymorphisms with the meat quality traits of Wuliang Mountain Black-bone (WLMB) chickens. The results showed that both and genes were weakly expressed in the second and third weeks, and then increased significantly from the third week to the fourth week.

Expression analysis of microRNAs and their target mRNAs of testes with high and low sperm motility in domestic pigeons (Columba livia).

Sperm motility is one of the most important indicators to evaluate poultry fertility. In order to explore key molecular regulation roles related to sperm motility, we employed testicular RNA sequencing of pigeon. A total of 705 known and 385 novel microRNAs were identified.

Investigation of the gene expression pattern and association analysis of its polymorphisms with meat quality traits in chickens.

Meat quality is closely related to the fat deposition which is regulated by a cascade of transcription factors. As a transcription factor, the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (CEBPA) is considered as one of the key molecules regulating adipogenesis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to detect the expression pattern of the gene and evaluate whether its single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with the meat quality traits in Wuliang Mountain Black-bone (WLMB) chickens.

Association of Gene Polymorphisms with Meat Quality Traits in Domestic Pigeons ().

Myogenic differentiation 1 () belongs to the family and plays a key role in myogenesis and consequently, in determining muscle fiber characteristics. In this study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the exons of were identified in 200 domestic pigeons () by direct DNA sequencing, and the association between polymorphisms and meat quality traits was analyzed. We found four novel variations (A2967G, G3044A, A3164C, and C3311G) in exon 3.

Analysis of the physical meat quality in partridge (Alectoris chukar) and its relationship with intramuscular fat.

This study was undertaken to assess the effect of various levels of intramuscular fat (IMF: <0.5%, 0.5-0.

Expression Analysis of the PITX2 Gene and Associations between Its Polymorphisms and Body Size and Carcass Traits in Chickens.

PITX2 is expressed in and plays an important role in myocytes of mice, and it has effects on late myogenic differentiation in chickens. However, the expression profile and polymorphisms of PITX2 remain unclear in chickens. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to detect its expression and investigate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within its exons and then to evaluate whether these polymorphisms affect body size as well as carcass traits in chickens.

Polymorphisms of pro-opiomelanocortin gene and the association with reproduction traits in chickens.

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is a member of prohormone family and has important functions in stress response, skin pigmentation, thermoregulation and reproduction. In this study, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of POMC gene exons were detected by direct sequencing in 317 Zhenning yellow chickens. The sequencing results indicated there were seven mutation sites (g.