A significant quantitative trait locus on chromosome Z and its impact on egg production traits in seven maternal lines of meat-type chicken

Abstract

Background Egg production is economically important in the meat-type chicken industry. To better understand the molecular genetic mechanism of egg production in meat-type chicken, genetic parameter estimation, genome-wide association analyses combined with meta-analyses, Bayesian analyses, and selective sweep analyses were performed to screen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other genetic loci that were significantly associated with egg number traits in 11,279 chickens from seven material lines. Results Yellow-feathered meat-type chickens laid 115 eggs at 43 weeks of age and white-feathered chickens laid 143 eggs at 60 weeks of age, with heritability ranging from 0.034–0.258. Based on meta-analyses and selective sweep analyses, one region (10.81–13.05 Mb) on chromosome Z was associated with egg number in all lines. Further analyses using the W2 line was also associated with the same region, and 29 SNPs were identified that significantly affected estimation of breeding value of egg numbers. The 29 SNPs were identified as having a significant effect on the egg number EBV in 3194 birds in line W2. There are 36 genes in the region, with glial cell derived neurotrophic factor, DAB adaptor protein 2, protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha 1, NAD kinase 2, mitochondrial, WD repeat domain 70, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor alpha, complement C6, and complement C7 identified as being potentially affecting to egg number. In addition, three SNPs (rs318154184, rs13769886, and rs313325646) associated with egg number were located on or near the prolactin receptor gene. Conclusion Our study used genomic information from different chicken lines and populations to identify a genomic region (spanning 2.24 Mb) associated with egg number. Nine genes and 29 SNPs were identified as the most likely candidate genes and variations for egg production. These results contribute to the identification of candidate genes and variants for egg traits in poultry.

Research progress and applications of genome‐wide association study in farm animals

“…Advances in techniques for fine-mapping and prioritizing variants have been developed through functional annotation [26], Bayesian approaches [85], and sequencing technology [86]. Admixed population association studies and meta-GWAS enable more precise identification of candidate regions and magnify the associations of causal variants by comparing population differences in LD [36,87]. Advances in statistical methods [49,88] and public databases [17,18] have made great contributions to the identification of causal genes and variants and enable GWAS findings to be integrated into functional genomics.…”

“…Regarding egg production, a meta-GWAS comprising seven chicken maternal lines was conducted and revealed the presence of a GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY IN FARM ANIMALS ~2.2 Mb interval on GGA Z that affected egg number, covering candidate genes GDNF, DAB2, PRKAA1, etc. [87]. A high accuracy of imputation from 55K SNP to WGS has been proved, and imputation-based GWAS was used to detect putative SNPs and genes for chicken energy efficiency (e.g., HRH3L, SHANK2 and EHF) and thigh muscle traits (e.g., DRD2 and ADGRG6) [161,216].…”

Exploring the Contribution of Intelligent Nanomaterials in Gas Sensing

“…In recent years, there has been a growing interest in gas‐sensing technology within both academic and industrial circles. Various industries, including semiconductors, fabrication, power generation, chemical and petrochemical, transportation (such as ships, aircraft, and vehicles), food and beverage processing, medical equipment, and more, rely on gas sensors for tasks related to process control and gas analysis [1–3] . Gas sensors are a type of chemical sensor and hold significant importance in these applications.…”

Enhanced acetone gas-sensing characteristics of Pd–NiO nanorods/SnO2 nanowires sensors

“…2 Recently, nanostructured materials like nanowires, nanorods, and nanosheets were reported to have a high gas sensor response due to their ultrahigh surface-to-volume ratio. 21 In addition, the presence of noble metal or metal oxide on the sensing material surface would improve its sensing properties due to the synergetic effect of catalyst and heterojunction. 14,22 Noble metals lower activation energies, enhancing catalytic activity, generating active surface sites for increased oxygen adsorption, and reducing the operating temperature of the sensor.…”