Tan Lizhi, Xu Ning, Liu Zexuan, Cai Xinyu, Kong Yuan, Wen Zilong, Wang Yuzhan, Zhao Yiqiang
State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 China.
College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 China.
Poult Sci. 2025 May 19;104(8):105280. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105280.
Understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying egg production is crucial for improving laying performance in chickens. However, traditional genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have not effectively utilized the information regarding the longitudinal trajectories and dynamics of egg-laying phenotype. In this study, based on individual egg production records over time, we first utilized the Yang-Ning model to characterize four egg production parameters. Our SNP-based GWAS on these parameters, along with three multidimensional GWAS models, captured different aspects of egg-laying dynamics. The novel significant associations and candidate genes identified, including C3, CADPS2, and TLN2, contribute significantly to egg-laying traits. By quantifying both direct and indirect effects of egg production parameters on egg number (EN) through the integration of Bayesian networks and structural equation modeling, we demonstrated that an earlier age at first egg directly promotes EN. The findings from this study enhance our understanding of the genetic mechanisms involved in egg production and provide valuable insights for optimizing chicken breeding strategies.
了解产蛋背后的遗传机制对于提高鸡的产蛋性能至关重要。然而，传统的全基因组关联研究（GWAS）尚未有效利用有关产蛋表型纵向轨迹和动态的信息。在本研究中，基于随时间的个体产蛋记录，我们首先利用杨-宁模型来表征四个产蛋参数。我们对这些参数进行的基于单核苷酸多态性（SNP）的GWAS以及三个多维GWAS模型，捕捉了产蛋动态的不同方面。鉴定出的新的显著关联和候选基因，包括C3、CADPS2和TLN2，对产蛋性状有显著贡献。通过整合贝叶斯网络和结构方程模型来量化产蛋参数对产蛋数（EN）的直接和间接影响，我们证明了初产年龄较早直接促进产蛋数。本研究的结果加深了我们对产蛋遗传机制的理解，并为优化鸡育种策略提供了有价值的见解。
