Labouriau R, Kjaer J B, Abreu G C G, Hedegaard J, Buitenhuis A J
Aarhus University, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Poult Sci. 2009 Oct;88(10):2052-62. doi: 10.3382/ps.2009-00113.
Even though feather pecking (FP) in laying hens has been extensively studied, a good solution to prevent chickens from this behavior under commercial circumstances has not been found. Selection against FP behavior is possible, but for a more effective selection across different populations, it is necessary to characterize the genetic mechanism associated with this behavior. In this study, we use a high FP selection line, which has been selected for 8 generations. We present evidence of the presence of a major dominant allele affecting the FP behavior by using an argument based on the presence of mixture in the distribution of the observed FP and by studying the evolution of the proportion of very high FP along the sequence of 8 generations. This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that the gene transcription profile of the birds performing high FP differs from the profile of the other birds performing FP (456 genes differentially expressed from a total of 14,077 investigated genes).
尽管对蛋鸡的啄羽行为（FP）已进行了广泛研究，但在商业环境下尚未找到防止鸡出现这种行为的有效解决方案。针对啄羽行为进行选择是可行的，但为了在不同群体中进行更有效的选择，有必要对与该行为相关的遗传机制进行表征。在本研究中，我们使用了一个经过8代选育的高啄羽选择品系。我们通过基于观察到的啄羽行为分布中存在混合现象的论证，并研究在8代选育过程中极高啄羽比例的演变，来证明存在一个影响啄羽行为的主要显性等位基因。执行高啄羽行为的鸡的基因转录谱与执行其他啄羽行为的鸡的转录谱不同（在总共14077个研究基因中有456个基因差异表达），这一事实进一步支持了该假设。
