Determination of blood biochemical indices and research of egg quality-related candidate gene CDH5 in Putian black duck.

Improving egg quality and enhancing production efficiency are essential goals in poultry breeding. CDH5 encodes a cadherin involved in Ca transport in endothelial cells. The role of CDH5 in regulating duck egg quality and its mechanisms affecting Ca concentrations in duck uterine epithelial cells remains unclear. This study evaluated egg quality traits of the Putian black duck and conducted an association analysis with blood biochemical indices and single nucleotide polymorphisms in CDH5. Additionally, we constructed a CDH5 overexpression vector and synthesized specific siRNAs for transfection into Putian black duck uterine epithelial cells to assess Ca concentrations. Our results revealed a significant association between egg quality and five novel SNPs in CDH5, along with various blood biochemical indices. Further experiments demonstrated that CDH5 overexpression and knockdown reduced Ca concentrations in the uterine epithelial cells of Putian black ducks.