鸭卵巢组织基因差异表达与繁殖性状杂种优势率相关性分析

采用mRNA差异显示技术检测了产蛋高峰期高邮鸭、金定鸭及正反交组合群体卵巢组织中的基因差异表达,并分析了差异表达模式与繁殖性状杂种优势率的相关性.研究结果表明:杂交组合在开产日龄、42周龄产蛋数性状上表现出明显的杂种优势,杂种优势率>±10%;16对引物组合共扩增出326条cDNA片段,能够重现的有248条,重现率为76.03%,发现7种差异表达模式;相关性分析显示开产日龄、42周龄产蛋数杂种优势率与杂种超强表达模式呈极显著正相关(P<0.01),与杂种特异表达呈极显著负相关(P<0.01);共显性表达模式与开产日龄杂种优势率呈显著正相关(P<0.05);7种差异表达模式与42周龄种蛋受精率和受精蛋孵化率杂种优势率2个指标之间并不存在显著相关性(P>0.05).     

蛋鸡与肉鸡卵巢组织基因差异表达与产蛋数杂种优势的相关性研究

以白莱航蛋鸡(AA)、农大褐蛋鸡(DD)和白洛克肉鸡(EE)3个纯系及其正反杂交产生的6个杂交系为试验材料，应用mRNA差异显示技术，研究了产蛋高峰期(32周龄)纯种鸡与正反交杂种群卵巢组织的基因差异表达，及其差异表达模式与32周龄产蛋数的杂种优势率的相关性。结果：24种引物组合共扩增出1572条带，其中能够重现的有1126条，重现率为71．63％。在6个正反杂交群中检测到7类基因差异表达模式：P1杂种超强表达(22．29％)；P2杂种特异表达(9．84％)；P3杂种减弱表达(9．85％)；P4杂种沉默(3．42％)；P5单亲特异表达(22．91％)；P6单亲显性表达(25．74％)；P7共显性表达(5．95％)。相关性分析表明：32周龄产蛋数的杂种优势率与杂种特异型表达模式(P2)呈显著的负相关(P＜O．05)；而与杂种减弱型表达模式呈显著的正相关(P＜O．05)。这一研究结果为探索鸡的产蛋性状杂种优势的分子遗传机理奠定了基础，同时探讨了差异表达基因与杂种优势的关系。     

北京鸭／番鸭杂交体系肝脏组织基因表达差异的研究

以番鸭、北京鸭及其杂交后代半番鸭为研究对象,利用mRNA差异显示技术得到肝脏组织基因表达差异图谱.mRNA差异显示表明,肝脏组织的基因表达在纯种群和杂种群之间存在着显著的质和量的差异;5对引物组合显示出41条差异带;分属于7类10种基因表达模式,其中量的差异有3类4种,质的差异有4类6种.这些基因差异表达模式说明了杂种的基因表达调控方式发生了变化,可能是mRNA水平上杂种优势形成的分子遗传基础.     

北京鸭/番鸭杂交体系肝脏组织基因表达差异的研究

以番鸭、北京鸭及其杂交后代半番鸭为研究对象,利用mRNA差异显示技术得到肝脏组织基因表达差异图谱。mRNA差异显示表明,肝脏组织的基因表达在纯种群和杂种群之间存在着显著的质和量的差异;5对引物组合显示出41条差异带;分属于7类10种基因表达模式,其中量的差异有3类4种,质的差异有4类6种。这些基因差异表达模式说明了杂种的基因表达调控方式发生了变化,可能是mRNA水平上杂种优势形成的分子遗传基础。     

蛋鸡不同杂交组合主要经济性状的杂种优势的研究

通过对蛋鸡５个纯系和纯系间５个杂交组合的一个产蛋周期的生产性能测定，研究不同经济性状的杂种优势情况，以及不同杂交组合的杂种优势率。研究表明，极限性状受精率和孵化率在纯系水平较一般的情况下可以产生较大的杂种优势，而在纯系水平较高的情况下，由于受极限的限制，不可能表现明显的杂种优势；产蛋率和开产日龄的杂种优势率较高，料蛋比、成活率和７２周龄产蛋重的杂种优势略低一些，体重具有较强的杂种劣势，日耗料和蛋重的杂种优势（或劣势）率很低；遗传距离较远的品种（系）之间杂交产生杂种优势的可能性和程度较大，因此推荐用白来航和褐壳蛋鸡杂交生产商品蛋鸡。     

8周龄中外鸡种心肌、肝脏组织差异表达基因的初步分析

本文利用mRNA差异显示技术对8周龄中国地方品种丝毛乌骨鸡、引进品种白莱航蛋鸡、白洛克肉鸡进行基因差异表达分析。结果表明：三个品种鸡的心肌、肝脏组织分别检测到18和20条差异表达的基因片段。其中，心肌组织中的差异表达片段在白莱航蛋鸡与白洛克肉鸡之间最多，肝脏组织中的差异表达片段在丝毛乌骨鸡与白洛克肉鸡间最多。实验结果为寻找产蛋、产肉及肉质性状相关的基因提供了遗传学基础信息。     

黄羽鹌鹑与其自别雌雄配套系杂种生产性能比较

通过测定纯系黄羽鹌鹑及其 3种自别雌雄配套系黄羽 (♂ )×栗羽 (♀ ) ,黄羽 (♂ )×白羽 (♀ ) ,白羽 (♂ )×黄羽(♀ )杂种的种蛋孵化成绩、生长发育状况和产蛋性能 ,表明纯系黄羽鹌鹑与其 3种杂交组合的杂种之间受精蛋的孵化率、健雏率、生长发育状况和产蛋性能差异不显著 (P >0 .0 5 )。纯系黄羽鹌鹑及其杂种的产蛋高峰期为 16～ 2 4周龄 ,产蛋率在 90 %以上 ;10～ 36周龄的产蛋率在 80 %以上。     

家鸭×番鸭杂种下调表达新基因r-MHD2的克隆

以北京鸭、法国番鸭及其正反交F1代杂种为试验材料,采用mRNA差异显示(DDRT-PCR)方法分析不同试验组肌肉组织基因表达差异,结合抑制性消减杂交(SSH)加以验证,发现一个杂种下调表达基因r-MHD2,对鸭r-MHD2基因698 bp片段BLASTING结果表明,该基因与鸡(Gallus gallus)、非洲爪蟾Xenopus laevis和Xenopus tropicalis同源性分别为91%、78%和77%.r-MHD2基因的具体分子功能尚属未知.     

家鸭×番鸭杂种下调表达新基因r-MHD2的克隆

以北京鸭、法国番鸭及其正反交F1代杂种为试验材料,采用mRNA差异显示(DDRT-PCR)方法分析不同试验组肌肉组织基因表达差异,结合抑制性消减杂交(SSH)加以验证,发现一个杂种下调表达基因r-MHD2,对鸭r-MHD2基因698 bp片段BLASTING结果表明,该基因与鸡(Gallus gallus)、非洲爪蟾Xenopus laevis和Xenopus tropicalis同源性分别为91%、78%和77%。r-MHD2基因的具体分子功能尚属未知。     

罗曼褐父母代产蛋前期产蛋规律的分析

对1249只健康的23周龄的罗曼褐父母代种母鸡的产蛋情况进行观察,试验期67 d(至32周龄),目的在于了解产蛋前期,蛋用种鸡产蛋性能的变化规律。试验结果表明,随鸡群日龄的增大蛋壳颜色逐渐变浅,产蛋率和种蛋合格率逐渐上升,鸡群的死淘率在开始人工授精的前2周最高,双黄蛋率随产蛋率的上升而逐渐减小,双黄蛋平均重随产蛋率上升逐渐增大,到产蛋率达最高峰时开始变小,软壳蛋率和破蛋率随鸡群日龄的增大而逐渐减小,总蛋重及种蛋平均重随鸡群日龄的增大而逐渐增大。     

Production benefits of the crossbreeding of indigenous and non-indigenous ducks—growing and laying period body weight and production performance

To evaluate different crosses and purebreds ducks in respect to various economic traits and to estimate different crossbreeding genetic parameters, a 3?×?3 complete diallel cross involving indigenous duck (DD), Khaki Campbell (KK) and White Pekin (WW) were used to produce three purebreds (DD, KK, WW) three crossbreds (DK, DW, KW) and three reciprocals (KD, WD, WK). A total of 609 ducklings produced were reared on deep litter and the females (316 in number) were evaluated for growing and laying period body weight along with the production performance traits. Different crossbreeding genetic parameters were estimated for different traits. All the traits in respect to body weight gain during growing and laying period and different production traits including laying house mortality rate showed significant (p?≤?0.05) difference between different genetic groups. In general, crossbreds perform better than the purebreds for most of the traits studied. General combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effect (RE) were significant (p?≤?0.01) for body weight and production traits. Egg weight showed significant (p?≤?0.01) difference in respect to GCA, SCA and RE for all the ages of measurement except RE for 30th week egg weight. Laying period mortality rate was only significant (p?≤?0.05) for SCA. Most of the crossbreds recorded heterosis rate in desirable direction for majority of the traits. Overall results revealed that the crossbreds perform well in respect to different traits than the purebreds and may be used to take advantage of heterosis. DW performs well in respect to majority of the traits measured and is of importance for commercial exploitation. Further, pure line selection with development of specialised sire and dam line followed by crossing may be of importance to enhance the performances in the crosses.     

Joint evaluation of purebreds and crossbreds in swine

Data from two purebred swine lines A (n = 6,022) and B (n = 24,170), and their reciprocal, cross C (n = 6,135), were used to examine gains in reliability of combined purebred and crossbred evaluation over conventional within-line evaluations using crossbred and pureline models. Random effects in the pureline model included additive, parental dominance, and litter. In the crossbred model, effects were as in the pureline model except traits of each line were treated as separate traits and two additive effects were present. The approximate model was the same as the pureline except it was used for all lines disregarding breed differences. The traits in the evaluation were lifetime daily gain (LDG) and backfat. When separate line evaluations were replaced by evaluations with crossbreds, mean reliabilities of predicted breeding values increased by 2 to 9% for purebreds and by 21 to 72% for crossbreds. Rank correlations between these breeding values were > 0.99 for purebreds but 0.85 to 0.87 for crossbreds. Rank correlations between predicted breeding values obtained from crossbred and approximate models were 0.98 to 0.99 for purebreds and 0.96 to 0.98 for crossbreds. When the number of crossbreds was small in comparison to purebreds, the increase in reliability by using the crossbred data and the crossbred model as opposed to purebred models was small for purebreds but large for crossbreds. The approximate model provided very similar rankings to the crossbred model for purebreds but rankings were less consistent for crossbreds.     

Changes in heterosis under within-line selection or reciprocal recurrent selection: an experiment on early egg production in Japanese quail

In much animal production, commercial animals are crossbreds from closed lines or breeds under long-term directional selection. Therefore it is desirable to be able to predict heterosis gains over the generations as it is done for genetic progress under within-line selection. However, heterosis is the phenotypic expression of a complex phenomenon which may involve several types of genetic effects like dominance and epistasis. In animal breeding, basic quantitative genetics theory indicates that heterosis should be proportional to (squared) differences in gene frequency between populations (e.g. F alconer and M ac K ay 1996), and it has been found approximately correct, so it is commonly used for planning crosses. Under that type of heterosis, however, selection towards the same objective in two populations should bring gene frequencies closer, and therefore it should eventually decrease heterosis. On the other hand, reciprocal recurrent selection designed to increase genetic distance between lines should eventually achieve maximum heterosis (O llivier 1982). Some experiments reviewed by brun (1982) have already compared genetic progress under within-line and reciprocal recurrent selection, but they did not focus on comparing the trend of heterosis with generations between the two selection methods. Also, heterosis was monitored periodically in some selection experiments on poultry, and results were reviewed by F airfull (1990). They were somewhat contradictory, but they generally failed to relate genetic progress to loss of heterosis under within-line selection. Moreover, in commercial production, as purebreds and crossbreds are not contemporaries and are generally maintained under very different management systems, estimations of heterosis and of the evolution of crossbred advantage over the generations may be difficult to obtain. Using the Japanese quail as an experimental animal, the present work was initiated specifically to follow the changes in heterosis brought about by selection for a single heterotic trait, early egg production (M invielle et al. 1995). For that purpose, two selection methods expected to have opposite effects on heterosis, directional within-line (or individual) selection and reciprocal recurrent selection, were applied for 13 generations in four quail lines started from two different origins, and trends of heterosis in the selected character and in weight and egg traits were evaluated.     

Genetic parameter estimates from joint evaluation of purebreds and crossbreds in swine using the crossbred model.

Records on lifetime daily gain and backfat from two purebred lines A (n = 6,022), B (n = 24,170), and their reciprocal crosses C (n = 6,135) were used to estimate genetic parameters using within-line and terminal-cross models. The models that were fitted included fixed (contemporary group and sex), random additive A and(or) random additive B, random dominance, and random litter effects. Model for purebreds included only one additive effect, whereas the model for crossbreds included two additive effects. End weight was included as a covariable for backfat. Heritability estimates for lifetime daily gain were 0.26, 0.28, and 0.23 with within-line models for lines A, B, and C, respectively, and 0.26, 0.30, and 0.27 with the crossbred model, respectively. Heritability estimates for backfat were 0.52, 0.35, and 0.29 with within-line models for lines A, B, and C, respectively, and 0.51, 0.38, and 0.29 with the crossbred model, respectively. The genetic correlations between purebreds and crossbreds (r(pc)) for lifetime daily gain were 0.99 (A-C) and 0.62 (B-C); for backfat the correlations were 0.32 (A-C) and 0.70 (B-C). The amount of dominance variance from the crossbred model expressed as a proportion of phenotypic variance for lifetime daily gain was 0.39, 0.16, and 0.29 for lines A, B, and C respectively. Dominance variance for backfat was estimated as 0. A joint evaluation of purebreds and crossbreds would be most efficient with the crossbred model. The dominance variation should be accounted for lifetime daily gain.     

Optimal definition of contemporary groups for crossbred pigs in a joint purebred and crossbred genetic evaluation

In the pig industry, purebred animals are raised in nucleus herds and selected to produce crossbred progeny to perform in commercial environments. Crossbred and purebred performances are different, correlated traits. All purebreds in a pen have their performance assessed together at the end of a performance test. However, only selected crossbreds are removed (based on visual inspection) and measured at different times creating many small contemporary groups (CGs). This may reduce estimated breeding value (EBV) prediction accuracies. Considering this sequential recording of crossbreds, the objective was to investigate the impact of different CG definitions on genetic parameters and EBV prediction accuracy for crossbred traits. Growth rate (G_P) and ultrasound backfat (BF_P) records were available for purebreds. Lifetime growth (G_X) and backfat (BF_X) were recorded on crossbreds. Different CGs were tested: CG_all included farm, sex, birth year, and birth week; CG_week added slaughter week; and CG_day used slaughter day instead of week. Data of 124,709 crossbreds were used. The purebred phenotypes (62,274 animals) included three generations of purebred ancestors of these crossbreds and their CG mates. Variance components for four-trait models with different CG definitions were estimated with average information restricted maximum likelihood. Purebred traits’ variance components remained stable across CG definitions and varied slightly for BF_X. Additive genetic variances (and heritabilities) for G_X fluctuated more: 812 ± 36 (0.28 ± 0.01), 257 ± 15 (0.17 ± 0.01), and 204 ± 13 (0.15 ± 0.01) for CG_all, CG_week, and CG_day, respectively. Age at slaughter (AAS) and hot carcass weight (HCW) adjusted for age were investigated as alternatives for G_X. Both have potential for selection but lower heritabilities compared with G_X: 0.21 ± 0.01 (0.18 ± 0.01), 0.16 ± 0.02 (0.16 + 0.01), and 0.10 ± 0.01 (0.14 ± 0.01) for AAS (HCW) using CG_all, CG_week, and CG_day, respectively. The predictive ability, linear regression (LR) accuracy, bias, and dispersion of crossbred traits in crossbreds favored CG_day, but correlations with unadjusted phenotypes favored CG_all. In purebreds, CG_all showed the best LR accuracy, while showing small relative differences in bias and dispersion. Different CG scenarios showed no relevant impact on BF_X EBV. This study shows that different CG definitions may affect evaluation stability and animal ranking. Results suggest that ignoring slaughter dates in CG is more appropriate for estimating crossbred trait EBV for purebred animals.     

Genetic correlations between two strains of Durocs and crossbreds from differing production environments for slaughter traits

The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic correlations between 2 purebred Duroc pig populations (P1 and P2) and their terminal crossbreds [C1 = P1 x (Landrace x Large White) and C2 = P2 x (Landrace x Large White)] raised in different production environments. The traits analyzed were backfat (BF), muscle depth (MD), BW at slaughter (WGT), and weight per day of age (WDA). Data sets from P1, P2, C1, and C2 included 26,674, 8,266, 16,806, and 12,350 animals, respectively. Two-trait models (nucleus and commercial crossbreds) for each group included fixed (contemporary group, sex, weight, and age), random additive (animal for P1 and P2 and sire for C1 and C2), random litter, and random dam (C1 and C2 only) effects. Heritability estimates (+/-SE) for BF were 0.46 +/- 0.04, 0.38 +/- 0.02, 0.32 +/- 0.02, and 0.33 +/- 0.02 for P1, P2, C1, and C2, respectively. Heritability estimates for MD were 0.31 +/- 0.01, 0.23 +/- 0.02, 0.19 +/- 0.01, and 0.12 +/- 0.01 for P1, P2, C1, and C2, respectively. The estimates for WGT and WDA were 0.31 +/- 0.01, 0.21 +/- 0.02, 0.16 +/- 0.01, and 0.18 +/- 0.01 and 0.32 +/- 0.01, 0.22 +/- 0.02, 0.16 +/- 0.01, and 0.19 +/- 0.01, respectively. Genetic correlations between purebreds and crossbreds for BF were 0.83 +/- 0.09 (P1 x C1) and 0.89 +/- 0.05 (P2 x C2), for MD 0.78 +/- 0.05 (P1 x C1) and 0.80 +/- 0.08 (P2 x C2). For WGT and WDA, the correlations were 0.53 +/- 0.08 (P1 x C1), 0.80 +/- 0.10 (P2 x C2), and 0.60 +/- 0.07 (P1 x C1) and 0.79 +/- 0.09 (P2 x C2), respectively. (Co)variances in crossbreds were adjusted to a live BW scale. Compared with purebreds, the genetic variances in crossbreds were lower, and the residual variances were greater. Sire variances in crossbreds were approximately 20 to 30% of the animal variances in purebreds for BF and MD but were 13 to 25% for WGT and WDA. The efficiency of purebred selection on crossbreds, assessed by EBV prediction weights, ranged from 0.43 to 0.91 for line 1 and 0.70 to 0.92 for line 2. When nucleus and commercial environments differ substantially, the efficiency of selection varies by line and traits, and selection strategies that include crossbred data from typical production environments may therefore be desirable.     

Heat stress effects on farrowing rate in sows: genetic parameter estimation using within-line and crossbred models

The pork supply chain values steady and undisturbed piglet production. Fertilization and maintaining gestation in warm and hot climates is a challenge that can be potentially improved by selection. The objective of this study was to estimate 1) genetic variation for farrowing rate of sows in 2 dam lines and their reciprocal cross; 2) genetic variation for farrowing rate heat tolerance, which can be defined as the random regression slope of farrowing rate against increasing temperature at day of insemination, and the genetic correlation between farrowing rate and heat tolerance; 3) genetic correlation between farrowing rate in purebreds and crossbreds; and 4) genetic correlation between heat tolerance in purebreds and crossbreds. The estimates were based on 93,969 first insemination records per cycle from 24,456 sows inseminated between January 2003 and July 2008. These sows originated from a Dutch purebred Yorkshire dam line (D), an International purebred Large White dam line (ILW), and from their reciprocal crosses (RC) raised in Spain and Portugal. Within-line and crossbred models were used for variance component estimation. Heritability estimates for farrowing rate were 0.06, 0.07, and 0.02 using within-line models for D, ILW, and RC, respectively, and 0.07, 0.07, and 0.10 using the crossbred model, respectively. For farrowing rate, purebred-crossbred genetic correlations were 0.57 between D and RC and 0.50 between ILW and RC. When including heat tolerance in the within-line model, heritability estimates for farrowing rate were 0.05, 0.08, and 0.03 for D, ILW, and RC, respectively. Heritability for heat tolerance at 29.3°C was 0.04, 0.02, and 0.05 for D, ILW, and RC, respectively. Genetic correlations between farrowing rate and heat tolerance tended to be negative in crossbreds and ILW-line sows, implying selection for increased levels of production traits, such as growth and reproductive output, is likely to increase environmental sensitivity. This study shows that genetic selection for farrowing rate and heat tolerance is possible. However, when this selection is based solely on purebred information, the expected genetic progress on farrowing rate and heat tolerance in crossbreds (commercial animals) would be inconsequential.     

Estimation of additive, maternal and non-additive genetic effects of preweaning growth traits in a multibreed beef cattle project

Data from purebred and crossbred calves, consisting of Afrikaner (AF), Charolais (CH), Simmental (ST) and Hereford and Aberdeen Angus combined (HA), were analyzed to estimate breed additive effects, breed maternal effects, average individual heterosis and average maternal heterosis. The traits studied were birthweight (BW), weaning weight (WW) and preweaning average daily gain (ADG) (kg). A multiple regression procedure was used for the estimation of these genetic effects and for predictions for breed crosses that were not included in the data set. Crosses containing higher proportions of CH or ST were heavier at birth and weaning than the other crosses and purebreds. The direct effects of BW were negative and significant (P < 0.05), except that of the CH, which was the highest. The regression coefficients were ?24.87, ?18.16, ?22.80 and ?27.02 for AF, CH, ST and HA, respectively. The maternal effects were not significant. Both average individual and average maternal heterosis regression coefficients were also not significant for BW. Regression coefficients of both direct and maternal effects for WW were not significant and were characterized by large standard errors. Average individual heterosis and average maternal heterosis regression coefficients were, however, significant (P < 0.01) and the values were 5.34 and 2.19, respectively. A similar pattern was observed for ADG, except for the regression coefficients of the maternal effects, which were significant, with larger estimates for AF and ST reflecting their superior mothering ability. The values were 0.01, 0.13, 0.13, 0.03; ?0.82, ?0.85, ?0.85, ?0.81; 0.03 and 0.01 for direct effects and maternal effects of AF, CH, ST and HA; and average individual heterosis and average maternal heterosis, respectively. Means and standard errors of purebreds and their F₁ crosses not included in the dataset were predicted.