Leptin receptor(LEPR)plays a vital role in obesity in humans and animals.The objective of this study is to assess LEPR functional variants for chicken adipose deposition by integration of association and in-silico ana...Leptin receptor(LEPR)plays a vital role in obesity in humans and animals.The objective of this study is to assess LEPR functional variants for chicken adipose deposition by integration of association and in-silico analysis using a unique chicken population,the Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content(NEAUHLF).Five online bioinformatics tools were used to predict the functionality of the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in coding region.Further,the possible structure–function relationship of high confidence SNPs was determined by bioinformatics analyses,including the conservation and stability analysis based on amino acid residues,prediction of protein ligand-binding sites,and the superposition of protein tertiary structure.Meanwhile,we analyzed the association between abdominal fat traits and 20 polymorphisms of chicken LEPR gene.The integrated results showed that rs731962924(N867I)and rs13684622(C1002R)could lead to striking changes in the structure and function of proteins,of which rs13684622(C1002R)was significantly associated with abdominal fat weight(AFW,P=0.0413)and abdominal fat percentage(AFP,P=0.0260)in chickens.Therefore,we are of the opinion that rs13684622(C1002R)may be an essential functional SNP affecting chicken abdominal fat deposition,and potentially applied to improvement of broiler abdominal fat in molecular marker-assisted selection(MAS)program.Additionally,the coupling of association with computer electronic predictive analysis provides a new avenue to identify important molecular markers for breeders.展开更多
The uncoupling protein （UCP） is a member of the mitochondrial membrane transporter family, which plays an important role in energy metabolism. In the present study, the UCP gene was considered as a candidate gene fo...The uncoupling protein （UCP） is a member of the mitochondrial membrane transporter family, which plays an important role in energy metabolism. In the present study, the UCP gene was considered as a candidate gene for chicken growth traits, and the association of UCP gene SNPs with growth rate was investigated in the eighth generation of NEAUHLF broiler lines. Two SNPs were found in chicken UCP gene, and the association analysis results showed that both the individual and combination of chicken UCPgene SNPs were significantly associated with body weight of 7 weeks （BW7） and carcass weight （CW） （P〈0.05）, and the combination had much significant effects than the single SNP. This research suggested that the UCP gene could be a candidate gene or linked to a major gene which affected growth traits in chicken展开更多
Improving the production of broiler chicken meat has been a goal of broiler breeding programs worldwide for many years. However, the genetic architectures of skeletal muscle production traits in chickens have not yet ...Improving the production of broiler chicken meat has been a goal of broiler breeding programs worldwide for many years. However, the genetic architectures of skeletal muscle production traits in chickens have not yet been fully elucidated. In the present study, a total of 519 F_(2) birds, derived from a cross of Arbor Acres broiler and Baier layer, were re-sequenced(26 F_(0) individuals were re-sequenced at a 10-fold depth;519 F_(2) individuals were re-sequenced at a 3-fold depth) and the coupling of genome-wide association study(GWAS) and selection signatures(FST(fixation index) and θπ(nucleotide diversity)) was carried out to pinpoint the associated loci and genes that contribute to pectoral muscle weight(PMW) and thigh muscle weight(TMW). A total of 7 890 258 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) remained to be analyzed after quality control and imputation. The integration of GWAS and selection signature analyses revealed that genetic determinants responsible for skeletal muscle production traits were mainly localized on chromosomes 1(168.95–172.43 Mb) and 4(74.37–75.23 Mb). A total of 17 positional candidate genes(PCGs)(LRCH1, CDADC1, CAB39 L, LOC112531568, LOC112531569, FAM124 A, FOXO1, NBEA, GPALPP1, RUBCNL, ARL11, KPNA3, LHFP, GBA3, LOC112532426, KCNIP4, and SLIT2) were identified in these regions. In particular, KPNA3 and FOXO1 were the most promising candidates for meat production in chickens. These findings will help enhance our understanding of the genetic architecture of chicken muscle production traits, and the significant SNPs identified could be promising candidates for integration into practical breeding programs such as genome-wide selection(GS) to improve the meat yield of chickens.展开更多
Perilipin1(PLIN1)is a major phosphorylated protein that specifically coats the surface of neutral lipid droplets(LDs)in adipocytes and plays a crucial role in regulating the accumulation and hydrolysis of triacylglyce...Perilipin1(PLIN1)is a major phosphorylated protein that specifically coats the surface of neutral lipid droplets(LDs)in adipocytes and plays a crucial role in regulating the accumulation and hydrolysis of triacylglycerol(TG).Mammalian studies have shown that Plin1 gene transcription is mainly regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorgamma(PPARγ),the master regulator of adipogenesis.However,the regulatory mechanism of the chicken Plin1(c Plin1)gene is poorly understood.The present study aimed to investigate whether Plin1 is regulated by PPARγin chickens and identify its exact molecular mechanism.Reporter gene and expression assays showed that PPARγ2,but not PPARγ1,activated(P<0.01)the cPlin1 gene promoter.An electrophoretic mobility shift assay and mutational analysis revealed that PPARγ2 bound to a special site in the cPlin1 gene promoter to enhance its expression.In summary,our results show that PPARγpromotes the expression of the cPlin1 gene and that PPARγ2 is the main regulatory isoform.展开更多
Obesity presents a serious threat to human health and broiler performance.The expansion of adipose tissue is mainly regulated by the differentiation of preadipocytes.The differentiation of preadipocytes is a complex b...Obesity presents a serious threat to human health and broiler performance.The expansion of adipose tissue is mainly regulated by the differentiation of preadipocytes.The differentiation of preadipocytes is a complex biological process regulated by a variety of transcription factors and signaling pathways.Previous studies have shown that the transcription factor HMG-box protein 1(HBP1)can regulate the differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.However,it is unclear whether HBP1 involved in chicken preadipocyte differentiation and which signaling pathways it regulates.The aim of the current study was to explore the biological function and molecular regulatory mechanism of HBP1 in the differentiation of chicken preadipocytes.The expression patterns of chicken HBP1 in abdominal adipose tissue and during preadipocyte differentiation were analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot.The preadipocyte stably overexpressing HBP1 or knockout HBP1 and their control cell line were used to analyze the effect of HBP1 on preadipocyte differentiation by oil red O staining,RT-qPCR and Western blot.Cignal 45-Pathway Reporter Array was used to screen the signal pathways that HBP1 regulates in the differentiation of chicken preadipocytes.Chemical inhibitor and siRNA for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)were used to analyze the effect of STAT3 on preadipocyte differentiation.The preadipocyte stably overexpressing HBP1 was transfected by the siRNA of STAT3 or treated with a chemical inhibitor of STAT3 for the rescue experiment.The results of gene expression analysis showed that the expression of HBP1 was related to abdominal fat deposition and preadipocyte differentiation in chickens.The results of function gain and loss experiments indicated that overexpression/knockout of HBP1 in chicken preadipocytes could inhibit/promote(P<0.05)lipid droplet deposition and the expression of adipogenesis-related genes.Mechanismlly,HBP1 activates(P<0.05)the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)signaling pathway by targeting janus kinase 2(JAK2)transcription.The results of functional rescue experiments indicated that STAT3 signaling mediated the regulation of HBP1 on chicken preadipocyte differentiation.In conclusion,HBP1 inhibits chicken preadipocyte differentiation by activating the STAT3 signaling pathway via directly enhancing JAK2 expression.Our findings provided new insights for further analysis of the molecular genetic basis of chicken adipose tissue growth and development.展开更多
Background:Improving feed efficiency(FE)is one of the main objectives in broiler breeding.It is difficult to directly measure FE traits,and breeders hence have been trying to identify biomarkers for the indirect selec...Background:Improving feed efficiency(FE)is one of the main objectives in broiler breeding.It is difficult to directly measure FE traits,and breeders hence have been trying to identify biomarkers for the indirect selection and improvement of FE traits.Metabolome is the"bridge"between genome and phenome.The metabolites may potentially account for more of the phenotypic variation and can suitably serve as biomarkers for selecting FE traits.This study aimed to identify plasma metabolite markers for selecting high-FE broilers.A total of 441 birds from Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content were used to analyze plasma metabolome and estimate the genetic parameters of differentially expressed metabolites.Results:The results identified 124 differentially expressed plasma metabolites(P<0.05)between the lean line(highFE birds)and the fat line(low-FE birds).Among these differentially expressed plasma metabolites,44 were found to have higher positive or negative genetic correlations with FE traits(|r_g|≥0.30).Of these 44 metabolites,14 were found to display moderate to high heritability estimates(h~2≥0.20).However,among the 14 metabolites,4 metabolites whose physiological functions have not been reported were excluded.Ultimately,10 metabolites were suggested to serve as the potential biomarkers for breeding the high-FE broilers.Based on the physiological functions of these metabolites,reducing inflammatory and improving immunity were proposed to improve FE and increase production efficiency.Conclusions:According to the pipeline for the selection of the metabolite markers established in this study,it was suggested that 10 metabolites including 7-ketocholesterol,dimethyl sulfone,epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)-lysine,gamma-glutamyltyrosine,2-oxoadipic acid,L-homoarginine,testosterone,adenosine 5'-monophosphate,adrenic acid,and calcitriol could be used as the potential biomarkers for breeding the"food-saving broilers".展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31572394)the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA(CARS-41)the White Feather Broiler Breeding Joint Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China(19190526).
文摘Leptin receptor(LEPR)plays a vital role in obesity in humans and animals.The objective of this study is to assess LEPR functional variants for chicken adipose deposition by integration of association and in-silico analysis using a unique chicken population,the Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content(NEAUHLF).Five online bioinformatics tools were used to predict the functionality of the single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)in coding region.Further,the possible structure–function relationship of high confidence SNPs was determined by bioinformatics analyses,including the conservation and stability analysis based on amino acid residues,prediction of protein ligand-binding sites,and the superposition of protein tertiary structure.Meanwhile,we analyzed the association between abdominal fat traits and 20 polymorphisms of chicken LEPR gene.The integrated results showed that rs731962924(N867I)and rs13684622(C1002R)could lead to striking changes in the structure and function of proteins,of which rs13684622(C1002R)was significantly associated with abdominal fat weight(AFW,P=0.0413)and abdominal fat percentage(AFP,P=0.0260)in chickens.Therefore,we are of the opinion that rs13684622(C1002R)may be an essential functional SNP affecting chicken abdominal fat deposition,and potentially applied to improvement of broiler abdominal fat in molecular marker-assisted selection(MAS)program.Additionally,the coupling of association with computer electronic predictive analysis provides a new avenue to identify important molecular markers for breeders.
基金Supported by the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-42)Program for Innovation Research Team in University of Heilongjiang Province (2010td02)
文摘The uncoupling protein （UCP） is a member of the mitochondrial membrane transporter family, which plays an important role in energy metabolism. In the present study, the UCP gene was considered as a candidate gene for chicken growth traits, and the association of UCP gene SNPs with growth rate was investigated in the eighth generation of NEAUHLF broiler lines. Two SNPs were found in chicken UCP gene, and the association analysis results showed that both the individual and combination of chicken UCPgene SNPs were significantly associated with body weight of 7 weeks （BW7） and carcass weight （CW） （P〈0.05）, and the combination had much significant effects than the single SNP. This research suggested that the UCP gene could be a candidate gene or linked to a major gene which affected growth traits in chicken
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31572394)the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA(CARS-41)the White Feather Broiler Breeding Joint Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China(19190526)。
文摘Improving the production of broiler chicken meat has been a goal of broiler breeding programs worldwide for many years. However, the genetic architectures of skeletal muscle production traits in chickens have not yet been fully elucidated. In the present study, a total of 519 F_(2) birds, derived from a cross of Arbor Acres broiler and Baier layer, were re-sequenced(26 F_(0) individuals were re-sequenced at a 10-fold depth;519 F_(2) individuals were re-sequenced at a 3-fold depth) and the coupling of genome-wide association study(GWAS) and selection signatures(FST(fixation index) and θπ(nucleotide diversity)) was carried out to pinpoint the associated loci and genes that contribute to pectoral muscle weight(PMW) and thigh muscle weight(TMW). A total of 7 890 258 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) remained to be analyzed after quality control and imputation. The integration of GWAS and selection signature analyses revealed that genetic determinants responsible for skeletal muscle production traits were mainly localized on chromosomes 1(168.95–172.43 Mb) and 4(74.37–75.23 Mb). A total of 17 positional candidate genes(PCGs)(LRCH1, CDADC1, CAB39 L, LOC112531568, LOC112531569, FAM124 A, FOXO1, NBEA, GPALPP1, RUBCNL, ARL11, KPNA3, LHFP, GBA3, LOC112532426, KCNIP4, and SLIT2) were identified in these regions. In particular, KPNA3 and FOXO1 were the most promising candidates for meat production in chickens. These findings will help enhance our understanding of the genetic architecture of chicken muscle production traits, and the significant SNPs identified could be promising candidates for integration into practical breeding programs such as genome-wide selection(GS) to improve the meat yield of chickens.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31201796 and 32072704)the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA(CARS-41)the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province,China(LH2020C017)。
文摘Perilipin1(PLIN1)is a major phosphorylated protein that specifically coats the surface of neutral lipid droplets(LDs)in adipocytes and plays a crucial role in regulating the accumulation and hydrolysis of triacylglycerol(TG).Mammalian studies have shown that Plin1 gene transcription is mainly regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorgamma(PPARγ),the master regulator of adipogenesis.However,the regulatory mechanism of the chicken Plin1(c Plin1)gene is poorly understood.The present study aimed to investigate whether Plin1 is regulated by PPARγin chickens and identify its exact molecular mechanism.Reporter gene and expression assays showed that PPARγ2,but not PPARγ1,activated(P<0.01)the cPlin1 gene promoter.An electrophoretic mobility shift assay and mutational analysis revealed that PPARγ2 bound to a special site in the cPlin1 gene promoter to enhance its expression.In summary,our results show that PPARγpromotes the expression of the cPlin1 gene and that PPARγ2 is the main regulatory isoform.
基金supported by the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA of China (CARS41)
文摘Obesity presents a serious threat to human health and broiler performance.The expansion of adipose tissue is mainly regulated by the differentiation of preadipocytes.The differentiation of preadipocytes is a complex biological process regulated by a variety of transcription factors and signaling pathways.Previous studies have shown that the transcription factor HMG-box protein 1(HBP1)can regulate the differentiation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.However,it is unclear whether HBP1 involved in chicken preadipocyte differentiation and which signaling pathways it regulates.The aim of the current study was to explore the biological function and molecular regulatory mechanism of HBP1 in the differentiation of chicken preadipocytes.The expression patterns of chicken HBP1 in abdominal adipose tissue and during preadipocyte differentiation were analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot.The preadipocyte stably overexpressing HBP1 or knockout HBP1 and their control cell line were used to analyze the effect of HBP1 on preadipocyte differentiation by oil red O staining,RT-qPCR and Western blot.Cignal 45-Pathway Reporter Array was used to screen the signal pathways that HBP1 regulates in the differentiation of chicken preadipocytes.Chemical inhibitor and siRNA for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)were used to analyze the effect of STAT3 on preadipocyte differentiation.The preadipocyte stably overexpressing HBP1 was transfected by the siRNA of STAT3 or treated with a chemical inhibitor of STAT3 for the rescue experiment.The results of gene expression analysis showed that the expression of HBP1 was related to abdominal fat deposition and preadipocyte differentiation in chickens.The results of function gain and loss experiments indicated that overexpression/knockout of HBP1 in chicken preadipocytes could inhibit/promote(P<0.05)lipid droplet deposition and the expression of adipogenesis-related genes.Mechanismlly,HBP1 activates(P<0.05)the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)signaling pathway by targeting janus kinase 2(JAK2)transcription.The results of functional rescue experiments indicated that STAT3 signaling mediated the regulation of HBP1 on chicken preadipocyte differentiation.In conclusion,HBP1 inhibits chicken preadipocyte differentiation by activating the STAT3 signaling pathway via directly enhancing JAK2 expression.Our findings provided new insights for further analysis of the molecular genetic basis of chicken adipose tissue growth and development.
基金the earmarked fund for CARS-41,National Natural Science Foundation(32102537)White Feather Broiler Breeding Joint Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in China(19190526)“Academic Backbone”Project of Northeast Agricultural University(20XG30)。
文摘Background:Improving feed efficiency(FE)is one of the main objectives in broiler breeding.It is difficult to directly measure FE traits,and breeders hence have been trying to identify biomarkers for the indirect selection and improvement of FE traits.Metabolome is the"bridge"between genome and phenome.The metabolites may potentially account for more of the phenotypic variation and can suitably serve as biomarkers for selecting FE traits.This study aimed to identify plasma metabolite markers for selecting high-FE broilers.A total of 441 birds from Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content were used to analyze plasma metabolome and estimate the genetic parameters of differentially expressed metabolites.Results:The results identified 124 differentially expressed plasma metabolites(P<0.05)between the lean line(highFE birds)and the fat line(low-FE birds).Among these differentially expressed plasma metabolites,44 were found to have higher positive or negative genetic correlations with FE traits(|r_g|≥0.30).Of these 44 metabolites,14 were found to display moderate to high heritability estimates(h~2≥0.20).However,among the 14 metabolites,4 metabolites whose physiological functions have not been reported were excluded.Ultimately,10 metabolites were suggested to serve as the potential biomarkers for breeding the high-FE broilers.Based on the physiological functions of these metabolites,reducing inflammatory and improving immunity were proposed to improve FE and increase production efficiency.Conclusions:According to the pipeline for the selection of the metabolite markers established in this study,it was suggested that 10 metabolites including 7-ketocholesterol,dimethyl sulfone,epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)-lysine,gamma-glutamyltyrosine,2-oxoadipic acid,L-homoarginine,testosterone,adenosine 5'-monophosphate,adrenic acid,and calcitriol could be used as the potential biomarkers for breeding the"food-saving broilers".
