PTEN regulated by gga-miR-20a-5p is involved in chicken macrophages inflammatory response to APEC infection via autophagy.

Colibacillosis, a bacterial disease caused by avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), is a prevalent condition in the poultry industry, resulting in substantial economic losses annually. Previously, we identified PTEN as a crucial candidate gene that may play a significant role in chicken's immune response to APEC infection.

De novo transcriptome assembly and identification of genes associated with feed conversion ratio and breast muscle yield in domestic ducks.

Breast muscle yield and feed conversion efficiency are the major breeding aims in duck breeding. Understanding the role of specific transcripts in the muscle and small intestine might lead to the elucidation of interrelated biological processes. In this study, we obtained jejunum and breast muscle samples from two strains of Peking ducks that were sorted by feed conversion ratio (FCR) and breast muscle percentage into two-tailed populations.

Identification of Promising Mutants Associated with Egg Production Traits Revealed by Genome-Wide Association Study.

Egg number (EN), egg laying rate (LR) and age at first egg (AFE) are important production traits related to egg production in poultry industry. To better understand the knowledge of genetic architecture of dynamic EN during the whole laying cycle and provide the precise positions of associated variants for EN, LR and AFE, laying records from 21 to 72 weeks of age were collected individually for 1,534 F2 hens produced by reciprocal crosses between White Leghorn and Dongxiang Blue-shelled chicken, and their genotypes were assayed by chicken 600 K Affymetrix high density genotyping arrays. Subsequently, pedigree and SNP-based genetic parameters were estimated and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted on EN, LR and AFE.

Genome-wide association studies for feed intake and efficiency in two laying periods of chickens.

Background: Feed contributes to over 60 % of the total production costs in the poultry industry. Increasing feed costs prompt geneticists to include feed intake and efficiency as selection goals in breeding programs. In the present study, we used an F2 chicken population in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect potential genetic variants and candidate genes associated with daily feed intake (FI) and feed efficiency, including residual feed intake (RFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR).

Effects of different rearing systems on meat production traits and meat fiber microstructure of Beijing-you chicken.

Beijing-you is a Chinese local chicken which is raised for both meat and eggs. In the present study, we detected the effects of different rearing systems on growth, slaughtering performances and meat quality of Beijing-you chickens at 26-40 weeks of age. Six hundred Beijing-you hens were randomly allocated into two groups at 16 weeks of age and raised in free range or battery cage systems.

[Detection of chicken dominant white gene PMEL17 mutation site by a pooling method].

Dominant white locus is one of the major loci affecting feather color in the domestic chicken and its dominant allele I can inhibit the synthesis of the melanin. Therefore, the homozygotes (I/I) or heterozygotes (I/i) show a white phenotype. It has been confirmed that the Dominant white locus encodes PMEL17 protein which is a specific protein and plays a key role in the development of melanocytes, thus PMEL17 gene is identified as a positional candidate gene for the dominant white phenotype in chicken.

Origin and domestication history of Peking ducks deltermined through microsatellite and mitochondrial marker analysis.

In order to elucidate the domestication history of Peking ducks, 190 blood samples from six Chinese indigenous duck breeds were collected with 186 individuals genotyped by 15 microsatellite markers. Both the F(ST) and Nei's standard genetic distances (D(s)) from the microsatellite data indicated high genetic differentiation between Peking duck and other Chinese indigenous breeds. The haplotype network with mtDNA data showed that most of the Peking duck haplotypes were distinctly different from those of other domestic breeds.

[Comparison of denatured and non-denatured PAGE-silver-staining detection of PCR product of microsatellites].

The genomic DNAs from six chicken breeds in China were amplified using two microsatellite primers. The PCR products were detected by non-denatured and denatured PAGE gels respectively, and the gels were dyed by silver. There were distinct differences between the two kinds of gel.

[Genetic diversity in Tibetan chicken].

Morphological traits and living habit of Tibetan chicken, which is an aboriginal chicken breed on plateau with its own characteristic populational genetic features, are in great common with the Red Jungle Fowl, the assumed ancestry of domestic chicken. To fully exploit this chicken resource, Multiplex PCR with semi-automated polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) using fluorescently labeled microsatellite primers was used to detect the polymorphism at 20 microsatellite loci. At the same time, we randomly test the individual morphology and performance.

[Analysis of genetic relationship of egg-type chickens using microsatellite markers].

Twenty microsatellite markers were used to analyse the genetic relationship among four package lines (A, B, C, D) of egg-type chickens introduced in 2001 an 2002. The genetic heterozygosity, polymorphism information content (PIC), effective allele number, and genetic distance among lines were calculated and dendrogram was constructed to evaluate the genetic variability within line and genetic relations among lines. In total, 65 alleles in 20 microsatellite markers were detected.

[Conservation efficiency of local chicken breeds in different farms as revealed by microsatellite markers].

Twenty-eight microsatellite markers were used to analyze the conservation efficiency of two local chicken breeds (Dagu Chicken and Beijing Fatty Chicken) in different farms. Genotypes were detected in 125 samples. The genetic variations among and within the populations were calculated by the number of alleles, gene frequency, genetic heterozygosity (H), PIC, F-statistics, Nei's genetic distance and UPGMA.