Genome-Wide Association Analysis Reveals Key Genes Responsible for Egg Production of Lion Head Goose

Abstract

The lion head goose is one of the most important agricultural resources in China; however, its breeding process is relatively slow. In the present study, a genome-wide association study was performed for the genetic selection of egg production characters in lion head geese. We detected 30 single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in or near 30 genes that might be associated with egg production character, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to verify their expression level in lion head geese. The results showed that the expression levels of CRTC1 (encoding CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 1), FAAH2 (encoding fatty acid amide hydrolase 2), GPC3 (encoding glypican 3), and SERPINC1 (encoding serpin family C member 1) in high egg production population were significantly lower than those in the low egg production populations (*P < 0.05). The expression levels of CLPB (encoding caseinolytic peptidase B protein homolog), GNA12 (encoding guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit alpha-12), and ZMAT5 (encoding zinc finger, matrin type 5) in the high egg production population were significantly higher than those in the low egg production populations (*P < 0.05). The expression of BMP4 (encoding bone morphogenetic protein 4), FRMPD3 (encoding FERM and PDZ domain containing 3), LIF (encoding leukemia inhibitory factor), and NFYC (encoding nuclear transcription factor Y subunit gamma) in the high egg production population were very significantly lower than those in the low egg production population (**P < 0.01). Our findings provide an insight into the economic traits of lion head goose. These candidate genes might be valuable for future breeding improvement.

Genome-Wide Association Study to Identify SNPs and Haplotypes Associated with Reproductive Performance and Egg Quality Traits in Geese

“…Mover, we also identi ed the other 5 candidate genes for the EN48 or EN60 traits, PGM2L (Glucose 1,6-bisphosphate synthase), DP13B (DCC-interacting protein 13beta), DP13B (DCC-interacting protein 13-beta), RTJK (RNA-directed DNA polymerase from mobile element jockey), S2542 (Mitochondrial coenzyme A transporter SLC25A42). Previous studies have identi ed many candidate genes corresponding to reproductive traits in geese [41]. However, the positional candidate genes for egg number identi ed in the current study did not overlap with these genes.…”

“…Sichuan White is a popular Chinese goose breed reared for both meat and eggs. While egg laying and egg quality traits have been studied intensively in avians, including chickens [29,30], ducks [15,31], and quail [32], few studies have examined traits other than those associated with egg laying in the goose genome [13].…”

“…such as embryo viability, hatchability, egg production, and breakage rate [9][10][11]. With the increasing public concern surrounding animal health and the regulation of the goose industry, reproductive performance and egg quality have become a major focus for researchers [12,13].…”

“…In birds, reproductive performance and egg quality are quantitative traits, which, as well as having genetic determinants, are also in uenced by diet, housing, environment, management, disease, and other factors [13]. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are used to detect genes or genetic variations associated with speci c traits [14].…”

Genome-Wide Association Study-Based Identification of SNPs and Haplotypes Associated With Goose Reproductive Performance and Egg Quality

“…Additionally, the shell quality affects critical economic indexes such as embryo viability, hatchability, egg production, and the breakage rate (Yamak et al, 2016;Guoxian et al, 2017;Farghly et al, 2019). Given the importance of goose reproductive performance and egg quality, researchers focused on improving the production and quality of egg of goose (Ouyang et al, 2020;Zhao et al, 2020).…”