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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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Somjee U, Shankar A, Falk JJ. Can Sex-Specific Metabolic Rates Provide Insight Into Patterns of Metabolic Scaling? Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:icac135. [PMID: 35963649 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Females and males can exhibit striking differences in body size, relative trait size, physiology and behavior. As a consequence the sexes can have very different rates of whole-body energy use, or converge on similar rates through different physiological mechanisms. Yet many studies that measure the relationship between metabolic rate and body size only pay attention to a single sex (more often males), or do not distinguish between sexes. We present four reasons why explicit attention to energy-use between the sexes can yield insight into the physiological mechanisms that shape broader patterns of metabolic scaling in nature. First, the sexes often differ considerably in their relative investment in reproduction which shapes much of life-history and rates of energy use. Second, males and females share a majority of their genome but may experience different selective pressures. Sex-specific energy profiles can reveal how the energetic needs of individuals are met despite the challenge of within-species genetic constraints. Third, sexual selection often pushes growth and behavior to physiological extremes. Exaggerated sexually selected traits are often most prominent in one sex, can comprise up to 50% of body mass and thus provide opportunities to uncover energetic constraints of trait growth and maintenance. Finally, sex-differences in behavior such as mating-displays, long-distance dispersal and courtship can lead to drastically different energy allocation among the sexes; the physiology to support this behavior can shape patterns of metabolic scaling. The mechanisms underlying metabolic scaling in females, males and hermaphroditic animals can provide opportunities to develop testable predictions that enhance our understanding of energetic scaling patterns in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ummat Somjee
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
- University of Texas, Austin, TX
| | | | - Jay J Falk
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
- University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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