Genetic diversity and structure of captive gentoo penguin populations in Japan.

Until the last decade, gentoo penguins were usually split into two subspecies, northern gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua papua) breeding in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and other subantarctic islands and southern gentoo penguins (P. papua ellsworthi) breeding in the South Sandwich, South Orkney and South Shetland islands, and Antarctic Peninsula. Recent genetics research, however, suggests that the population at South Georgia is much more closely related to those further south and should be included in P. papua ellsworthi. In Japanese zoos and aquariums, captive breeding of gentoo penguins is conducted separately in three populations: "Captive-South Georgia," originating from South Georgia, "Captive-South Shetlands," originating from South Shetlands, and "Captive-Unknown," originating from at least one founder of unknown subspecies. The aims of the present study were to investigate the genetic diversity and differentiation of these captive populations using microsatellite analysis. Genetic diversity in each captive population was similar to that found in the wild, although they had much lower contemporary effective population sizes. Pairwise genetic differentiation indexes (FST ) among the three captive populations were as follows: 0.0309 ("Captive-South Georgia" and "Captive-Unknown"), 0.1094 ("Captive-South Georgia" and "Captive-South Shetlands"), and 0.1214 ("Captive-South Shetlands" and "Captive-Unknown"). Using Bayesian clustering, there was relatively high genetic differentiation between the "Captive-South Shetlands" group, which formed a distinct cluster, and individuals of the "Captive-Unknown" group, which were assigned to clusters in common with "Captive-South Georgia." The results from the present study are useful for future management of captive gentoo penguin populations in Japan.

Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Commercial Lines of Laying-type Japanese Quail.

The present study aims to investigate the maternal origin and genetic diversity of laying-type Japanese quail lines based on partial sequences (453 base pairs) of a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. A total of 478 individuals from 12 lines were sequenced and six different haplotypes with eight variable sites were identified. All haplotypes, two of which were identical to previously reported sequences, were typical for the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) and were distinct from those of the common quail (Coturnix coturnix) in a phylogenetic analysis including other published haplotypes. One haplotype was distributed in the majority of individuals (84.9%, 406/478) across all lines. Within each line, 72.5-100% of individuals had this predominant haplotype. The second most common haplotype was detected in 12.8% (61/478) individuals. These two haplotypes accounted for 97.7% of all individuals. The remaining four haplotypes were distributed with a low frequency; these were observed in five, three, two, and one individuals across all lines, respectively. All lines showed a low degree of haplotype diversity ranging from 0.0000 to 0.4321. Genetic differentiation indexes (F ST) were not significant in approximately 80% pairwise comparisons of lines. The results suggest limited maternal origin and low mtDNA diversity of laying-type quail lines and may reflect their breeding history where the present gene pool was rooted in a small number of founders.

Genetic Differentiation among Commercial Lines of Laying-type Japanese Quail.

Recently in Japan, approximately six million quails were primarily being reared for commercial egg production. It is believed that almost all commercial quails in the country became extinct during World War II, and that the present commercial gene pool was restored from the limited number of surviving birds. The present study evaluates the genetic diversity within and differentiation between 12 laying-type Japanese quail lines on the basis of 45 microsatellite genotypes. The mean number of alleles per locus and the expected heterozygosity within a quail line were 5.22-5.69 and 0.601-0.618, respectively. These results showed that laying-type quail lines in the present study exhibited a higher degree of genetic diversity than experimental quail lines in a previous study. Pairwise genetic differentiations (F ST) between lines were significant but weak (F ST=0.0028-0.0254; 57.6%), and no significant differentiations were found between the remainder. This was also confirmed by genetic clustering analyses, in which individuals did not form independent clusters consistent with their line origins. The results of the present study indicate relatively high genetic diversity within and no clear genetic differentiation between laying-type quail lines. Absence of genetic differentiation may reflect the breeding history of laying-type quails.

Genetic Divergence in Domestic Japanese Quail Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA D-Loop and Microsatellite Markers.

To assess the genetic diversity of domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) populations, and their genetic relationships, we examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences and microsatellite markers for 19 Japanese quail populations. The populations included nine laboratory lines established in Japan (LWC, Quv, RWN, WE, AWE, AMRP, rb-TKP, NIES-L, and W), six meat-type quail lines reimported from Western countries (JD, JW, Estonia, NIES-Br, NIES-Fr, and NIES-Hn), one commercial population in Japan, and three wild quail populations collected from three Asian areas. The phylogenetic tree of mtDNA D-loop sequences revealed two distinct haplotype groups, Dloop-Group1 and Dloop-Group2. Dloop-Group1 included a dominant haplotype representing most of the quail populations, including wild quail. Dloop-Group2 was composed of minor haplotypes found in several laboratory lines, two meat-type lines, and a few individuals in commercial and wild quail populations. Taking the breeding histories of domestic populations into consideration, these results suggest that domestic quail populations may have derived from two sources, i.e., domestic populations established before and after World War II in Japan. A discriminant analysis of principal components and a Bayesian clustering analysis with microsatellite markers indicated that the domestic populations are clustered into four genetic groups. The two major groups were Microsat-Group1, which contained WE, and four WE-derived laboratory lines (LWC, Quv, RWN, and AWE), and Microsat-Group2 consisting of NIES-L, JD, JW, Estonia, NIES-Br, NIES-Fr, NIES-Hn, W, and commercial and wild populations. The remaining two lines (AMRP and rb-TKP) were each clustered into a separate clade. This hierarchical genetic difference between domestic quail populations is attributed to the genetic background derived from two different genetic sources-the pre-war and post-war populations-which is well supported by their breeding histories.

A genetically female brain is required for a regular reproductive cycle in chicken brain chimeras.

Sexual differentiation leads to structural and behavioural differences between males and females. Here we investigate the intrinsic sex identity of the brain by constructing chicken chimeras in which the brain primordium is switched between male and female identities before gonadal development. We find that the female chimeras with male brains display delayed sexual maturation and irregular oviposition cycles, although their behaviour, plasma concentrations of sex steroids and luteinizing hormone levels are normal. The male chimeras with female brains show phenotypes similar to typical cocks. In the perinatal period, oestrogen concentrations in the genetically male brain are higher than those in the genetically female brain. Our study demonstrates that male brain cells retain male sex identity and do not differentiate into female cells to drive the normal oestrous cycle, even when situated in the female hormonal milieu. This is clear evidence for a sex-specific feature that develops independent of gonadal steroids.

Molecular characterization reveals genetic uniformity in experimental chicken resources.

The objective of the present study was to conduct the genetic characterization of nine experimental chicken lines based on multilocus microsatellite analysis. Commercial chicken lines were also analyzed in order to compare their levels of genetic uniformity with those of the experimental lines. In six experimental lines, more than 80% of genotyped loci showed fixed allele for all individuals in each line, whereas only 17.5% of genotyped loci were fixed in commercial lines, at the maximum. One of experimental lines (GSN/1) was categorized as a highly inbred line on the basis of all individuals having the same, single allele at every microsatellite locus. Genetic information obtained from the present study should be helpful for the utilization and management of experimental chicken resources.