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Chen A, Zhao X, Zhao X, Wang G, Zhang X, Ren X, Zhang Y, Cheng X, Yu X, Wang H, Guo M, Jiang X, Mei X, Wei G, Wang X, Jiang R, Guo X, Ning Z, Qu L. Genetic Foundation of Male Spur Length and Its Correlation with Female Egg Production in Chickens. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1780. [PMID: 38929399 PMCID: PMC11200594 DOI: 10.3390/ani14121780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Spurs, which mainly appear in roosters, are protrusions near the tarsometatarsus on both sides of the calves of chickens, and are connected to the tarsometatarsus by a bony core. As a male-biased morphological characteristic, the diameter and length of spurs vary significantly between different individuals, mainly related to genetics and age. As a specific behavior of hens, egg-laying also varies greatly between individuals in terms of traits such as age at first egg (AFE), egg weight (EW), and so on. At present, there are few studies on chicken spurs. In this study, we investigated the inheritance pattern of the spur trait in roosters with different phenotypes and the correlations between spur length, body weight at 18 weeks of age (BW18), shank length at 18 weeks of age (SL18), and the egg-laying trait in hens (both hens and roosters were from the same population and were grouped according to their family). These traits related to egg production included AFE, body weight at first egg (BWA), and first egg weight (FEW). We estimated genetic parameters based on pedigree and phenotype data, and used variance analysis to calculate broad-sense heritability for correcting the parameter estimation results. The results showed that the heritability of male left and right spurs ranged from 0.6 to 0.7. There were significant positive correlations between left and right spur length, BW18, SL18, and BWA, as well as between left and right spur length and AFE. We selected 35 males with the longest spurs and 35 males with the shortest spurs in the population, and pooled them into two sets to obtain the pooled genome sequencing data. After genome-wide association and genome divergency analysis by FST, allele frequency differences (AFDs), and XPEHH methods, we identified 7 overlapping genes (CENPE, FAT1, FAM149A, MANBA, NFKB1, SORBS2, UBE2D3) and 14 peak genes (SAMD12, TSPAN5, ENSGALG00000050071, ENSGALG00000053133, ENSGALG00000050348, CNTN5, TRPC6, ENSGALG00000047655,TMSB4X, LIX1, CKB, NEBL, PRTFDC1, MLLT10) related to left and right spur length through genome-wide selection signature analysis and a genome-wide association approach. Our results identified candidate genes associated with chicken spurs, which helps to understand the genetic mechanism of this trait and carry out subsequent research around it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anqi Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xiaoyu Zhao
- Xingrui Agricultural Stock Breeding, Baoding 072550, China;
| | - Xiurong Zhao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Gang Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xinye Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xufang Ren
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Yalan Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xue Cheng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xiaofan Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Huie Wang
- Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China;
| | - Menghan Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xiaoyu Jiang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Xiaohan Mei
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Guozhen Wei
- Qingliu Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Aquatic Products Center, Sanming 365501, China;
| | - Xue Wang
- VVBK Animal Medical Diagnostic Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Beijing 100199, China;
| | - Runshen Jiang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; (R.J.); (X.G.)
| | - Xing Guo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China; (R.J.); (X.G.)
| | - Zhonghua Ning
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
| | - Lujiang Qu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (X.Z.); (G.W.); (X.Z.); (X.R.); (Y.Z.); (X.C.); (X.Y.); (M.G.); (X.J.); (X.M.); (Z.N.)
- Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China;
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Soutter F, Werling D, Kim S, Pastor-Fernández I, Marugán-Hernández V, Tomley FM, Blake DP. Impact of Eimeria tenella Oocyst Dose on Parasite Replication, Lesion Score and Cytokine Transcription in the Caeca in Three Breeds of Commercial Layer Chickens. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:640041. [PMID: 33693044 PMCID: PMC7937735 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.640041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eimeria species parasites infect the gastrointestinal tract of chickens, causing disease and impacting on production. The poultry industry relies on anticoccidial drugs and live vaccines to control Eimeria and there is a need for novel, scalable alternatives. Understanding the outcomes of experimental infection in commercial chickens is valuable for assessment of novel interventions. We examined the impact of different infectious doses of Eimeria tenella (one low dose, three high doses) in three commercial layer chicken lines, evaluating lesion score, parasite replication and cytokine response in the caeca. Groups of eight to ten chickens were housed together and infected with 250, 4,000, 8,000 or 12,000 sporulated oocysts at 21 days of age. Five days post-infection caeca were assessed for lesions and to quantify parasite replication by qPCR and cytokine transcription by RT-qPCR. Comparison of the three high doses revealed no significant variation between them in observed lesions or parasite replication with all being significantly higher than the low dose infection. Transcription of IFN-γ and IL-10 increased in all infected chickens relative to unchallenged controls, with no significant differences associated with dose magnitude (p > 0.05). No significant differences were detected in lesion score, parasite replication or caecal cytokine expression between the three lines of chickens. We therefore propose 4,000 E. tenella oocysts is a sufficient dose to reliably induce lesions in commercial layer chickens, and that estimates of parasite replication can be derived by qPCR from these same birds. However, more accurate quantification of Eimeria replication requires a separate low dose challenge group. Optimisation of challenge dose in an appropriate chicken line is essential to maximize the value of in vivo efficacy studies. For coccidiosis, this approach can reduce the numbers of chickens required for statistically significant studies and reduce experimental severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Soutter
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dirk Werling
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sungwon Kim
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Iván Pastor-Fernández
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom.,SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Fiona M Tomley
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Damer P Blake
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Coccidiosis is an antagonistic poultry disease which negatively impacts animal welfare and productivity. The disease is caused by an obligate, intracellular protozoon known as Eimeria. Several Eimeria species known to infect chickens have been well documented. However, recent studies have elucidated the emergence of three novel genetic variants or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The discovery of OTUx, OTUy and OTUz complicates the identification and diagnosis of coccidiosis. OTUs are clusters of unknown or uncultivated organisms that are grouped according to a similarity in DNA sequence to a set of specific gene markers. OTUs have been reported in the Earth's Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, Venezuela, India, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, China and Ghana. Elucidating their impact on the poultry industry is fundamental in preventing anticoccidial resistance and to access the potential of OTUs as vaccine candidates to provide cross-protection against similar Eimeria species. The identification of OTUs further decreases the risk of false negative coccidial diagnosis. Therefore, this article reviews the importance and risk imposed by OTUs, coupled with their prevalence and geographical distribution in chickens globally.
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