National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding/Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100094, People's Republic of China.
Beijing Zoo, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 19;7(1):3837. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04178-7.
Muscle growth and lipid deposition are co-ordinately regulated processes. Cherry Valley Pekin duck is a lean-type duck breed with high growth rate, whereas the native Pekin duck of China has high lipid deposition. Phenotypic analysis showed that native Pekin ducks have smaller fibre diameter and larger density in the breast muscle at 3 weeks of age and higher intramuscular fat content at 6 weeks of age than those in Cherry Valley Pekin ducks. We detected 17 positively selected genes (PSGs) by comparing genes mainly involved with muscle organ development, muscle contraction, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor signalling pathway, and fatty acid metabolism. In all, 52 and 206 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in transcriptomic comparisons between the two breeds at 3 and 6 weeks of age, respectively, which could potentially affect muscle growth and lipid deposition. Based on the integration of PSGs and DEGs and their functional annotations, we found that 11 and 10 genes were correlated with muscle growth and lipid deposition, respectively. Identification of candidate genes controlling quantitative traits of duck muscle might aid in elucidating the mechanisms of muscle growth and lipid deposition and could help in improving duck breeding.
肌肉生长和脂肪沉积是协调调节的过程。樱桃谷鸭是一种生长速度快、瘦肉型的鸭品种，而中国本地的北京鸭则具有较高的脂肪沉积率。表型分析表明，3 周龄时，中国本地北京鸭的胸肌纤维直径较小，密度较大，6 周龄时的肌内脂肪含量较高。我们通过比较主要参与肌肉器官发育、肌肉收缩、过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体信号通路和脂肪酸代谢的基因，发现了 17 个正选择基因（PSGs）。在 3 周龄和 6 周龄时，两个品种之间的转录组比较分别鉴定出 52 个和 206 个差异表达基因（DEGs），这些基因可能会影响肌肉生长和脂肪沉积。基于 PSGs 和 DEGs 的整合及其功能注释，我们发现分别有 11 个和 10 个基因与肌肉生长和脂肪沉积相关。鉴定控制鸭肌肉数量性状的候选基因，可能有助于阐明肌肉生长和脂肪沉积的机制，并有助于改善鸭的养殖。
