Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
Sci Rep. 2020 Sep 3;10(1):14532. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71421-z.
Gamecock chickens are one of the earliest recorded birds in China, and have accumulated some unique morphological and behavioral signatures such as large body size, muscularity and aggressive behavior, whereby being excellent breeding materials and a good model for studying bird muscular development and behavior. In this study, we sequenced 126 chicken genomes from 19 populations, including four commercial chicken breeds that are commonly farmed in China, 13 nationwide Chinese typical indigenous chicken breeds (including two Chinese gamecock breeds), one red jungle fowl from Guangxi Province of China and three gamecock chickens from Laos. Combined with 31 published chicken genomes from three populations, a comparative genomics analysis was performed across 157 chickens. We found a severe confounding effect on potential cold adaptation exerted by introgression from commercial chickens into Chinese indigenous chickens, and argued that the genetic introgression from commercial chickens into indigenous chickens should be seriously considered for identifying selection footprint in indigenous chickens. LX gamecock chickens might have played a core role in recent breeding and conservation of other Chinese gamecock chickens. Importantly, AGMO (Alkylglycerol monooxygenase) and CPZ (Carboxypeptidase Z) might be crucial for determining the behavioral pattern of gamecock chickens, while ISPD (Isoprenoid synthase domain containing) might be essential for the muscularity of gamecock chickens. Our results can further the understanding of the evolution of Chinese gamecock chickens, especially the genetic basis of gamecock chickens revealed here was valuable for us to better understand the mechanisms underlying the behavioral pattern and the muscular development in chicken.
斗鸡鸡是中国最早记录的鸟类之一,积累了一些独特的形态和行为特征,如体型大、肌肉发达和攻击性强,因此成为优秀的繁殖材料和研究鸟类肌肉发育和行为的良好模型。在这项研究中,我们对来自 19 个群体的 126 只鸡的基因组进行了测序,包括中国常见的四种商业鸡种、13 种全国性的中国典型本土鸡种(包括两种中国斗鸡种)、来自中国广西的一只红原鸡和三只老挝斗鸡。结合来自三个群体的 31 个已发表的鸡基因组,对 157 只鸡进行了比较基因组分析。我们发现,商业鸡种对中国本土鸡种的潜在冷适应的遗传渗入产生了严重的混杂效应,并认为商业鸡种对本土鸡种的遗传渗入应该在确定本土鸡种的选择足迹时予以认真考虑。LX 斗鸡鸡可能在其他中国斗鸡鸡的最近繁殖和保护中发挥了核心作用。重要的是,AGMO(烷基甘油单加氧酶)和 CPZ(羧肽酶 Z)可能对确定斗鸡鸡的行为模式至关重要,而 ISPD(异戊烯基合成酶结构域包含)可能对斗鸡鸡的肌肉发达至关重要。我们的研究结果可以进一步加深对中国斗鸡鸡进化的理解,特别是这里揭示的斗鸡鸡的遗传基础对于我们更好地理解鸡的行为模式和肌肉发育的机制是有价值的。