Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbiological Engineering, Shandong Polytechnic University, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56656. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056656. Epub 2013 Feb 19.
CTSD (Cathepsin D) is a key enzyme in yolk formation, and it primarily affects egg yolk weight and egg weight. However, recent research has mostly focused on the genomic structure of the CTSD gene and the enzyme's role in pathology, and less is known about the enzyme's functions in chickens. In this paper, the correlations between CTSD polymorphisms and egg quality traits were analyzed in local Shandong chicken breeds. CTSD polymorphisms were investigated by PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism) and sequencing analysis. Two variants were found to be associated with egg quality traits. One variant (2614T>C), located in exon 3, was novel. Another variant (5274G>T), located in intron 4, was previously referred to as rs16469410. Overall, our results indicated that CTSD would be a useful candidate gene in selection programs for improving yolk traits.
组织蛋白酶 D（CTSD）是卵黄形成的关键酶，主要影响蛋黄重量和蛋重。然而，最近的研究主要集中在 CTSD 基因的基因组结构及其在病理学中的作用，而对该酶在鸡中的功能知之甚少。本研究分析了地方品种山东鸡 CTSD 多态性与蛋品质性状的相关性。采用 PCR-SSCP（聚合酶链反应单链构象多态性）和测序分析研究了 CTSD 多态性。发现两个变异与蛋品质性状相关。一个位于外显子 3 的变异（2614T>C）是新发现的。另一个位于内含子 4 的变异（5274G>T）之前被称为 rs16469410。总的来说，我们的结果表明 CTSD 可能是一个有用的候选基因，可用于选择程序以改善蛋黄性状。
