Ye Fei, Jie Hongwei, Gan Jiankang, Liu Kunyu, Zhang Zhengfen, Xiang Hai, Liu Wei, Yin Qiong, Chen Siyu, Yu Hui, Li Hua
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Design and Precise Breeding, School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China.
Guangdong Tinoo's Food Co., Ltd., Qingyuan, Guangdong 511500, China.
Poult Sci. 2025 Feb;104(2):104632. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104632. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Qingyuan Partridge chickens represent a notable breed of high-quality, slow-growing chickens. The cost of feed constitutes 65-70 % of the total breeding expense for Qingyuan Partridge chickens. Enhancing feed utilization efficiency and reducing feed consumption are crucial for the advancement of Qingyuan Partridge chickens and the broader poultry industry. To investigate the key candidate genes associated with feed efficiency in Qingyuan Partridge chickens for genome selection, the genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in this study. Genetic parameters estimation results indiated that the heritability of 12-17 feed conversion ratio was 0.19, with the highest genetic correlation observed with 17 body weight (-0.96). Additionally, the heritability of 12-17 residual feed intake was 0.09, with the highest genetic correlation with 12-14 average daily feed intake (0.93). GWAS results revealed 28 significant SNPs associated with body weight, feed intake, metabolic weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and residual feed intake. The multiple genes are significantly enriched in the aromatic compound biosynthetic process, heterocycle biosynthetic process, and nucleobase-containing compound biosynthetic process. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression levels of four genes-exocyst complex component 4(EXOC4), fibrosin like 1(FBRSL1), methionine adenosyltransferase 2 non-catalytic beta subunit (MAT2B), and cytidine/uridine monophosphate kinase 1(CMPK1)-related to significant SNPs exhibited significant differences in the liver tissues of high residual feed intake group compared with low residual feed intake group. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying chicken feed efficiency traits, enabling further genetic improvement of Qingyuan Partridge chickens, and improving industrial efficiency.
清远麻鸡是优质、生长缓慢的著名鸡种。饲料成本占清远麻鸡总养殖成本的65%-70%。提高饲料利用效率和减少饲料消耗对清远麻鸡及更广泛的家禽业发展至关重要。为了研究清远麻鸡中与饲料效率相关的关键候选基因用于基因组选择，本研究进行了全基因组关联研究（GWAS）。遗传参数估计结果表明，12-17周龄饲料转化率的遗传力为0.19，与17周龄体重的遗传相关性最高（-0.96）。此外，12-17周龄剩余采食量的遗传力为0.09，与12-14周龄平均日采食量的遗传相关性最高（0.93）。GWAS结果显示，有28个显著的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与体重、采食量、代谢体重、体重增加、饲料转化率和剩余采食量相关。多个基因在芳香族化合物生物合成过程、杂环生物合成过程和含核碱基化合物生物合成过程中显著富集。定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）分析表明，与显著SNP相关的4个基因——外泌体复合体成分4（EXOC4）、类纤维蛋白1（FBRSL1）、蛋氨酸腺苷转移酶2非催化β亚基（MAT2B）和胞苷/尿苷单磷酸激酶1（CMPK1）——在高剩余采食量组鸡的肝脏组织中的表达水平与低剩余采食量组相比存在显著差异。这些发现有助于更好地理解鸡饲料效率性状的分子机制，从而进一步对清远麻鸡进行遗传改良，提高产业效率。
