Integrated analysis of microRNA and mRNA interactions in ovary of counter-season breeding and egg-ceased geese (Anser cygnoides).

Egg-ceasing is a phenomenon that occurs in most avian species and significantly reduces productivity. Although several factors are reported to regulate the reproduction progress, the underlying molecular mechanism of egg-ceasing remains obscure. Herein, we identified and explored the differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs involved in ovarian atrophy via high throughput sequencing. We identified a total of 901 mRNAs and 50 miRNAs that were differentially expressed in egg-laying and atrophic ovaries. Among them, numerous differentially expressed gene (DEG) transcripts and target genes for miRNAs were significantly enriched in Gene Ontology terms such as reproductive processes, cell proliferation, and apoptosis pathways. In addition, an interaction network was constructed by considering target relationships and correlation of the expression levels between ovary development-related genes, miRNAs and pathways. We discovered mRNA and miRNAs transcripts that are candidate regulators of ovary development in egg-ceased geese. Our findings expanded our understanding of the functional of miRNAs in ovarian atrophy and demonstrated that RNA-Seq is a powerful tool for examining the molecular mechanism in regulating egg-ceasing.

Genotype frequency distributions of 28 SNP markers in two commercial lines and five Chinese native chicken populations.

BACKGROUND: Modern breeding in the poultry industry mainly aims to produce high-performance poultry lines and breeds in two main directions of productivity, meat and eggs. To understand more about the productive potential of lowly selected Chinese native chicken populations, we selected 14 representative SNP markers strongly associated with growth traits or carcass traits and 14 SNP markers strongly associated with egg laying traits through previous reports. By using the MassArray technology, we detected the genotype frequency distributions of these 28 SNP markers in seven populations including four lowly selected as well as one moderately selected Sichuan native chicken populations, one commercial broiler line and one commercial layer line. RESULTS: Based on the genotype frequency distributions of these 28 SNP markers in 5 native chicken populations and 2 commercial lines, the results suggested that these Chinese indigenous chicken populations have a relatively close relationship with the commercial broiler line but a marked distinction from the commercial layer line. Two native chicken breeds, Shimian Caoke Chicken and Daheng Broilers, share similar genetic structure with the broiler line. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations may help us to better select and breed superior domestic chickens and provide new clues for further study of breeding programs in local chicken populations.

[Genetic regulation of broodiness in poultry].

Broodiness is a behavior commonly occurring in the poultry industry, which is characterized by inappetence, egg-laying cessation and incubation. Different from laying fowls, the ovary and oviduct of broodiness fowls is degenerate. Broodiness is a low heritability trait, which is controlled by multiple genes in autosomes and influenced by three factors, including environment, endocrine and genetics. In addition to the observation of behavioral characteristics, the current research of broodiness focuses on evaluating the genetic mode, endocrine factors, nesting candidate genes and their polymorphisms in poultry. Given the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing, the joint analyses of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics have been used to screen out the candidate genes, pathways and molecular mechanism of broodiness. In this review, we summarize the candidate genes, microRNAs and pathways involved in broodiness to provide a reference for further research on poultry broodiness.

Molecular Characterization, Expression and Functional Analysis of Chicken STING.

Innate immunity is an essential line of defense against pathogen invasion which is gained at birth, and the mechanism involved is mainly to identify pathogen-associated molecular patterns through pattern recognition receptors. STING (stimulator of interferon genes) is a signal junction molecule that hosts the perception of viral nucleic acids and produces type I interferon response, which plays a crucial role in innate immunity. However, relatively few studies have investigated the molecular characterization, tissue distribution, and potential function of STING in chickens. In this study, we cloned the full-length cDNA of chicken STING that is composed of 1341 bp. Sequence analyses revealed that STING contains a 1140-bp open-reading frame that probably encodes a 379-amino acid protein. Multiple sequence alignments showed that the similarity of the chicken STING gene to other birds is higher than that of mammals. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays revealed that STING is highly expressed in the spleen, thymus and bursa of fabricious in chickens. Furthermore, we observed that STING expression was significantly upregulated both in vitro and in vivo following infection with Newcastle disease virus (NDV). STING expression was also significantly upregulated in chicken embryo fibroblasts upon stimulation with poly(I:C) or poly(dA:dT). Taken together, these findings suggest that STING plays an important role in antiviral signaling pathways in chickens.

Molecular characterization of a novel ovodefensin gene in chickens.

Host defense peptides (HDPs) represent a large group of diverse small peptides that play important roles in host defense and disease resistance. In vertebrates, one of the main types of HDPs belong to defensins, which are less than 100 amino acid residues and characterized by a highly conserved motif of cysteine residues. Recently, a subfamily of defensins, namely ovodefensins (OvoDs), has been identified in birds and reptiles. However, both their family members and evolutionary relationships remain unclear. In the present study, we cloned and characterized a novel gene namely OvoDBß in chickens. Our results showed that the full length of chicken OvoDBß mRNA contains 344 bp nucleotides and encodes a 61-amino acid protein. We further revealed that the mRNA of OvoDBß is abundant in the oviduct of laying hens but absent in many other tissues. Additionally, sequences comparison and analyses suggested that OvoDBß is orthologous to the gene previously known as zebra finch OvoDB1, albeit it might exhibit specific structures. Furthermore, both OvoDBα and OvoDBß were existent in the genome of each bird, implying that two types of OvoDBs sharing same cysteine motif have already emerged before the species divergence. More importantly, recombinant OvoDBß mature peptide exerted antibacterial activity against Escherischia coli (CICC23657 strain) in vitro. These results collectively indicated that the putative sequence, namely chicken OvoDBß, is a function gene with potential antimicrobial property. Discovery and function characterization of novel HDP genes may help us develop novel antimicrobial agents in the future.