Genome Research Center, NODAI Research Institute, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 1-1-1, Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan.
Genomics. 2013 Jun;101(6):345-53. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 Apr 2.
The Japanese quail has several advantages as a laboratory animal for biological and biomedical investigations. In this study, the draft genome of the Japanese quail was sequenced and assembled using next-generation sequencing technology. To improve the quality of the assembly, the sequence reads from the Japanese quail were aligned against the reference genome of the chicken. The final draft assembly consisted of 1.75 Gbp with an N50 contig length of 11,409 bp. On the basis of the draft genome sequence obtained, we developed 100 microsatellite markers and used these markers to evaluate the genetic variability and diversity of 11 lines of Japanese quail. Furthermore, we identified Japanese quail orthologs of spermatogenesis markers and analyzed their expression using in situ hybridization. The Japanese quail genome sequence obtained in the present study could enhance the value of this species as a model animal.
鹌鹑在生物学和生物医学研究中作为实验动物具有许多优势。在这项研究中，我们使用下一代测序技术对鹌鹑的基因组草图进行了测序和组装。为了提高组装的质量，我们将鹌鹑的序列读取与鸡的参考基因组进行了比对。最终的基因组草图组装大小为 1.75 Gbp，N50 片段长度为 11,409 bp。基于获得的基因组草图序列，我们开发了 100 个微卫星标记，并使用这些标记评估了 11 条鹌鹑品系的遗传变异性和多样性。此外，我们还鉴定了与精子发生标记相关的鹌鹑同源基因，并使用原位杂交技术分析了它们的表达。本研究获得的鹌鹑基因组序列可以提高该物种作为模型动物的价值。
