Contina Andrea, Bridge Eli S, Kelly Jeffrey F
Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Integr Zool. 2016 Jul;11(4):240-9. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12199.
To search for genes associated with migratory phenotypes in songbirds, we selected candidate genes through annotations from the Mouse Genome Informatics database and assembled an extensive candidate-gene library. Then, we implemented a next-generation sequencing approach to obtain DNA sequences from the Painted Bunting genome. We focused on those sequences that were conserved across avian species and that aligned with candidate genes in our mouse library. We genotyped short sequence repeats from the following candidate genes: ADRA1d, ANKRD17, CISH and MYH7. We studied the possible correlations between allelic variations occurring in these novel candidate migration genes and avian migratory phenotypes available from the published literature. We found that allele variation at MYH7 correlated with a calculated index of speed of migration (km/day) across 11 species of songbirds. We highlight the potential of the Mouse Genome Informatics database in providing new candidate genes that might play a crucial role in regulating migration in birds and possibly in other taxa. Our research effort shows the benefits and limitations of working with extensive genomic datasets and offers a snapshot of the challenges related to cross-species validation in behavioral and molecular ecology studies.
为了寻找与鸣禽迁徙表型相关的基因，我们通过小鼠基因组信息学数据库的注释筛选候选基因，并构建了一个庞大的候选基因库。然后，我们采用新一代测序方法从彩鹀基因组中获取DNA序列。我们关注那些在鸟类物种中保守且与我们小鼠库中的候选基因对齐的序列。我们对以下候选基因的短串联重复序列进行基因分型：ADRA1d、ANKRD17、CISH和MYH7。我们研究了这些新的候选迁徙基因中发生的等位基因变异与已发表文献中可得的鸟类迁徙表型之间的可能相关性。我们发现，MYH7的等位基因变异与11种鸣禽的计算得出的迁徙速度指数（公里/天）相关。我们强调了小鼠基因组信息学数据库在提供可能在调节鸟类以及可能在其他分类群的迁徙中起关键作用的新候选基因方面的潜力。我们的研究工作展示了处理庞大基因组数据集的益处和局限性，并呈现了行为和分子生态学研究中与跨物种验证相关的挑战概况。
