Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Department of Animal Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H9X3V9, Canada.
Zool Res. 2021 Nov 18;42(6):710-720. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.189.
The Chantecler chicken, a unique Canadian indigenous breed, is well adapted to extremely cold environments. However, its genetic characteristics have not been well studied. Here, we analyzed the whole genomes of 10 Chantecler chickens and 121 worldwide chickens, which indicated that Chantecler chickens were derived from commercial chickens and exhibit a high level of inbreeding. Based on a genome-wide scan, we identified two vital candidate regions containing and , which are related to fat metabolism and nervous system in cold adaptation, respectively. We also found that the genetic mechanism of cold adaptation in Chantecler chickens differed from that of chickens from other cold regions, such as northern China. Our study indicated that specialized commercial chickens in the early 20th century contained sufficient genetic diversity to adapt to extreme cold environments over a very short time. These findings enrich our understanding of the adaptive potential of commercial species.
加拿大的特色鸡种——海赛克斗鸡适应严寒环境的能力极强，但其遗传特性却鲜为人知。在这里，我们对 10 只海赛克斗鸡和 121 只世界各地的鸡进行了全基因组分析，结果表明，海赛克斗鸡是由商业鸡种衍生而来，存在高度近亲繁殖现象。通过全基因组扫描，我们鉴定出两个重要的候选区域，分别包含 和 ，这两个区域与脂肪代谢和冷适应神经系统有关。此外，我们还发现海赛克斗鸡的冷适应遗传机制与来自中国北方等其他寒冷地区的鸡有所不同。本研究表明，20 世纪初的专门商业鸡种在短时间内就拥有了足够的遗传多样性，以适应极端寒冷的环境。这些发现丰富了我们对商业物种适应潜力的认识。
