Polymorphisms in the Chicken Growth Differentiation Factor 9 Gene Associated with Reproductive Traits

Lingbin Liu,Huadong Yin,Zhifu Cui,Qihai Xiao,Diyan Li,Xiaoling Zhao,Qing Zhu,Yan Wang,Haihan Zhang

doi:10.1155/2018/9345473

Lingbin Liu, Huadong Yin + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9345473

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate GDF9 gene polymorphisms and their association with reproductive traits in chicken using DNA sequencing. A total of 279 Dongxiang blue-shelled (DX) chickens and 232 Luhua (LH) chickens were used for validation. We detected 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): nine SNPs were previously unreported in chicken, two were missense mutations, and only three exhibited significant associations with reproductive traits. G.17156387C>T was significantly associated with age at first egg (AFE) and weight of first egg (WFE) in both breeds. Birds carrying the CC genotype exhibited higher AFE and WFE values than those with the TT genotype. The SNP g.17156427A>G exhibited an association with egg weight at 300 days of age (EWTA) in DX but not in LH chickens. The SNP g.17156703A>C affected the AFE and EN (total number of eggs at 300 days of age) in DX chickens. In addition, certain diplotypes significantly affected AFE, BWTA (body weight at 300 days of age), and EN in both breeds. RT-PCR results showed that the GDF9 gene was highly expressed in stroma with cortical follicles (STR) and prehierarchal follicles. These results provided further evidence that the GDF9 gene is involved in determining reproductive traits in chicken.

Highlights

In the modern poultry industry, reproductive traits of laying hens, such as age at first egg, egg number, and egg weight, are major factors of economic concern [1,2,3,4]
In Dongxiang blue-shelled (DX) chickens, we found that the mutations g.17156387C>T, g.17156427A>G, and g.17156703A>C had significant effects on partial reproductive traits, including at first egg (AFE), weight of first egg (WFE), body weight at days of age (BWTA), egg weight at days of age (EWTA), and EN
Nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were previously unreported in chicken; two (g.17156703A>C and g.17158286A>G) were missense mutations, resulting in the amino acids substitutions of Ile󳨀→Leu and Ile󳨀→Val, respectively; and three showed significant associations with partial reproductive traits

Summary

Introduction

In the modern poultry industry, reproductive traits of laying hens, such as age at first egg, egg number, and egg weight, are major factors of economic concern [1,2,3,4]. Studies on genes related to chicken reproductive traits are of great importance in terms of revealing genetic mechanisms affecting egg-laying performance and for breeding the laying hens with high productivity and quality. The candidate gene approach is a method used frequently for genetic dissection of complex and quantitative traits [5,6,7,8,9]. This method is based on using information regarding physiological and biochemical processes in the organism to select related genes and explore their relationship with phenotypes [3, 6]. Dag et al [9] detected that a missense mutation (c.1111G>A) in GDF9 causing a BioMed Research International

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