ABSTRACT
The fat mass- and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is involved in energy metabolism, but little is known about the chicken FTO gene. The objective of the current study was to detect chicken FTO expression patterns in the hypothalamus, liver, and skeletal muscle during development, and analyze the effects of age and breed on FTO expression. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction results revealed that chicken FTO mRNA was expressed in all of the tissues tested. Chicken FTO exhibited tissue- and breed-specific patterns in the recessive White Plymouth Rock chicken and the Qingyuan partridge chicken. The highest FTO expression level was in the hypothalami of 1-week-old chicks. FTO mRNA was expressed more in the breast muscles and livers of recessive White Plymouth Rock chickens than those of Qingyuan partridge chickens at 1 and 8 weeks of age. These results indicate that FTO probably plays a significant role in energy metabolism at 1 week old, when chicks have undergone metabolic adaptations from yolk dependence to the utilization of exogenous feed.
Subject(s)
Avian Proteins/genetics , Chickens/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Lipid Metabolism/genetics , Meat , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Animals , Avian Proteins/metabolism , Body Weight , Breeding , Chick Embryo , Chickens/growth & development , Energy Metabolism/genetics , Female , Hypothalamus/growth & development , Hypothalamus/metabolism , Liver/growth & development , Liver/metabolism , Male , Muscle, Skeletal/growth & development , Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism , Organ Specificity , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein-1 (NOD1) is a cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptor (PRR) and a key member of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family. It has been reported that NLRs recognize a variety of microbial infections to induce the host innate immune response via modulation of NF-κB signaling. However, no reports on chicken NOD1 have been reported to date. In the current study, the full-length cDNA sequence of NOD1 was cloned. The complete open reading frame of NOD1 contains 2856 bp and encodes a 951 amino acid protein. Structurally, it is comprised of one caspase recruitment domain at the N-terminus, seven leucine-rich repeat regions at the C-terminus, and one NACHT domain between the N and C-termini. Phylogenetic analyses showed that chicken NOD1 clusters with duck and turkey. Furthermore, tissue-specific expression analyses of chicken NOD1 were performed using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. NOD1 is widely distributed in various tissues, with the highest expression observed in testes. Finally, induced expression of chNOD1 and its associated adaptor molecule receptor-interacting protein 2, as well as the effector molecule NF-κB, was observed following S. enterica serovar Enteritidis infection. These findings highlight the important role of chicken NOD1 in response to pathogenic invasion. The present study is the first report of the cloning, expression, and functional analysis of chicken NOD1 and provides the foundation for future research on the structure and function of chicken NOD1.
Subject(s)
Avian Proteins/genetics , Chickens/genetics , Gene Expression Profiling , Nod1 Signaling Adaptor Protein/genetics , Salmonella Infections, Animal/genetics , Animals , Chickens/microbiology , Cloning, Molecular , DNA, Complementary/chemistry , DNA, Complementary/genetics , Female , Host-Pathogen Interactions , Male , Molecular Sequence Data , NF-kappa B/genetics , Nod1 Signaling Adaptor Protein/classification , Phylogeny , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Receptor-Interacting Protein Serine-Threonine Kinase 2/genetics , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Salmonella Infections, Animal/microbiology , Salmonella enteritidis/physiology , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
Growth hormone (GH) has diverse functions in animals, together with other hormones from the somatotropic axis. Here, chicken GH (cGH) was investigated in recessive white chickens and Qingyuan partridge chickens as a candidate gene affecting egg production traits. Chicken egg production traits were studied in association with 4 selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (T185G, G662A, T3094C, and C3199T). Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction method. T185G was significantly associated with the egg production traits of body weight at first egg (BW), egg weight at first egg (EW), and the total egg production of 300-day old birds (EN 300). T3094C was also significantly associated with certain egg production traits; however, it affected the 2 breeds differently. Haplotypes of the 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms were also significantly associated with egg production traits of chicken age at first egg laying, BW, EW, and EN 300. H1H6 was the most advantageous diplotype for egg production. We putatively concluded that polymorphisms in the cGH gene and its haplotypes could be used as potential molecular markers for egg production traits to enhance the breeding programs of indigenous chickens.
Subject(s)
Chickens/genetics , Growth Hormone/genetics , Oviparity/genetics , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Quantitative Trait, Heritable , Animals , Body Weight , Breeding , Eggs , Female , Haplotypes , PhenotypeABSTRACT
Chinese black-bone chickens are valued for the medicinal properties of their meat in traditional Chinese medicine. We investigated the genetic diversity and systematic evolution of Chinese black-bone chicken breeds. We sequenced the DNA of 520 bp of the mitochondrial cyt b gene of nine Chinese black-bone chicken breeds, including Silky chicken, Jinhu black-bone chicken, Jiangshan black-bone chicken, Yugan black-bone chicken, Wumeng black-bone chicken, Muchuan black-bone chicken, Xingwen black-bone chicken, Dehua black-bone chicken, and Yanjin black-bone chicken. We found 13 haplotypes. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity of the nine black-bone chicken breeds ranged from 0 to 0.78571 and 0.00081 to 0.00399, respectively. Genetic diversity was the richest in Jinhu black-bone chickens and the lowest in Yanjin black-bone chickens. Analysis of phylogenetic trees for all birds constructed based on hyplotypes indicated that the maternal origin of black-bone chickens is predominantly from three subspecies of red jungle fowl. These results provide basic data useful for protection of black-bone chickens and help determine the origin of domestic chickens.
Subject(s)
Breeding , Chickens/genetics , Genetic Variation , Meat , Animals , Animals, Domestic/genetics , DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics , Haplotypes , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , PhylogenyABSTRACT
The peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a candidate gene for meat quality traits because of its prominent role in muscle fiber type switching and determination. We investigated the effects of the PGC-1α gene on chicken skeletal muscle fiber type switching and on other meat quality traits. Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected by PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing, and then genotyping was performed by PCR-ligation detection reaction methods. Skeletal muscle fiber types, intramuscular fat content, shear forces, and water loss rate of the gastrocnemius lateralis muscle were measured in Qingyuan Partridge chickens and Recessive White chickens. Four SNPs, C171T in exon2, C384T in exon3, G646A in exon5, and A948G in exon8 were detected. Marker-trait association analysis indicated that G646A polymorphism was associated with skeletal myofiber type and that H1 (CCAA) was the most advantageous haplotype for skeletal myofiber type. We concluded that polymorphisms of the PGC-1α gene and their haplotypes are associated with chicken skeletal myofiber type traits.