快慢羽鸡的翼羽长度与相关基因表达分析

PRLR和SPEF2基因重复是鸡快慢羽表型的分子基础，为探究羽型的分子调控机制，本试验量测了19和21胚龄（E）的快慢羽坝上长尾鸡和太行鸡主翼羽和覆主翼羽长度，采用RT-qPCR检测鸡胚翅羽PRLR、SPEF2、BMP2和FST的表达变化。结果显示19E时坝上长尾慢羽鸡主翼羽比覆主翼羽长1.35 mm(P<0.05)，慢羽表型不明显；而此时太行慢羽鸡主翼羽长于覆主翼羽0.42 mm(P>0.05)，慢羽表型明显。PRLR和SPEF2在2个品种慢羽鸡的表达均显著高于快羽鸡（P<0.05），分别在1.4和2.0倍以上；SPEF2在21E坝上长尾快慢羽鸡表达均显著高于19E(P<0.05)。BMP2表达在坝上长尾慢羽鸡中显著高于快羽鸡（P<0.05），而在不同胚龄太行快慢羽鸡中则无显著差异（P>0.05）;FST在19E坝上长尾慢羽鸡中表达量最低（P<0.05），而太行鸡19E的慢羽鸡表达量最高（P<0.05）。综上，太行鸡在19E已表现慢羽表型，而坝上长尾鸡的慢羽表型在21E才呈现；推测PRLR和SPEF2在慢羽翅羽毛囊中的高表达，以及BMP2和FST在太行鸡和坝上长尾鸡翅羽毛囊中的差异表达，参与慢羽表型的形成。本试验的研究发现为阐明鸡羽型形成的分子调控提供理论依据。     

鸡胚NANOG、POUV和TWIST2基因不同发育阶段表达谱分析

为了解析鸡胚发育过程中NANOG、POUV和TWIST2基因的调控作用,利用荧光定量RT-PCR方法,研究NANOG、POUV和TWIST2基因在孵化1~6d(E1~E6)的整体胚胎和孵化15和18d(E15、E18)鸡胚的大脑、心脏、肝脏和左侧大腿肌肉组织中的表达谱。结果表明,1)NANOG基因的表达水平在E2~E6整胚和E15、E18胚期的大脑、心脏、肝脏和腿肌中的表达水平均极显著低于E1时期(P0.01)。2)在鸡胚发育的整胚E1~E6和E15、E18时期的大脑、肝脏、心脏和腿肌中,POUV基因的表达水平基本呈现逐渐降低趋势,且从E3时期后均显著低于E1时期(P0.05或P0.01)。3)TWIST2基因在E1~E6整胚中的表达水平呈现逐渐增高趋势,到E6达到最高水平(P0.05或P0.01);在E15和E18时期的上述4种组织中又呈现降低趋势,但均高于E1时期。NANOG、POUV和TWIST2基因在鸡胚发育过程的调控水平存在差异,研究结果可望为鸡的育种和临床研究提供资料。     

Expression of an Episomal Vector in Developing Chicken Embryo and Chicks

The domesticated chicken has important roles in basic and applied research. The vector based on scaffold matrix attachment region （S/MAR） appears to be sufficient to maintain long-term expression in an episomal state in various mammalian cells. To explore the practical use of episomal vector in transgene technology of agricultural chickens, we fused the S/MAR of the human r-interferon gene into the pEGFP vector and transduced it into chickens by sperm-mediated gene transfer （SMGT）. PCR detection indicated the positive rate of transgene chickens was 60%. The RT-PCR detection and fluorescence observation confirmed the expression of the GFP and indicated the existence of the GFP during the chicken embryogenesis and fetal development. The PCR detection and rescue experiments confirmed the episomal state of the pEPI-EGFP in chick embryos and chicks. These results showed that the S/MAR-based vector could function properly in chicken embryos and was a practicable tool combined with the SMGT to study the development of chickens.     

IGF1-PI3K-Akt信号通路相关基因在黄羽肉鸡肌肉和肝脏中的表达

【目的】IGF1-PI3K-Akt信号通路是调控生长发育的关键通路,选择慢速型的广西麻鸡和中速型的花山麻鸡作为研究对象,探究IGF1-PI3K-AKT信号通路相关基因胰岛素样生长因子1( Insulin-like growth factors, IGF1)、胰岛素样生长因子1受体( Insulin- like growth factor receptor, IGF1R)和胰岛素受体底物1 (Insulin receptor substrate1, IRS1)在骨骼肌和肝脏中的发育性表达规律,为阐明黄羽肉鸡生长发育调控机理提供参考。【方法】采用SPSS20.0比较广西麻鸡和花山麻鸡在胚胎期至出生后早期的生长发育差异,采用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测上述3个基因在两个品种鸡胚胎期（9、12、16胚龄）和出生后（0、7、21、35、49和63日龄）胸肌、腿肌和肝脏中的表达差异,并将其与体重和组织重进行相关性分析。【结果】鸡生长发育早期体重、骨骼肌重和肝脏重变化呈现显著的品种和时间特异性,经过选育的花山麻鸡体重和组织重的增长在胚胎发育后期已经远远超过广西麻鸡。IGF1、IGF1R和IRS1基因表达存在显著的品种、组织和发育时段特异性,总体上,在胚胎期肌肉中的表达量高于肝脏组织,出生后则为肝脏中的表达量高于肌肉组织,广西麻鸡肌肉中的表达量高于花山麻鸡,而花山麻鸡肝脏中的表达量要高于广西麻鸡。IGF1基因在两个品种胸腿肌中均在9胚龄即可检测到表达,腿肌中表达量均是9胚龄时最高,除与12胚龄差异不显著外,与其他各阶段差异显著,表达量最低点出现在出雏0日龄时;胸肌中则是12胚龄时表达量最高,63日龄时最低;肝脏中则出现品种差异,广西麻鸡胚胎期未检测到表达,从出雏0日龄开始表达,表达高峰出现在21日龄时,而在花山麻鸡中虽然胚胎期检测到表达但表达量极低,49日龄时达到表达高峰。两品种鸡肌肉和肝脏各个阶段均检测到IGF1R mRNA的表达,在胸肌和腿肌中的表达量均表现为9胚龄最高,广西麻鸡9胚龄与其他各阶段差异显著,花山麻鸡9胚龄除与12胚龄差异不显著外,与其他各阶段均差异显著;肝脏中,广西麻鸡表达高峰出现在21日龄,且与9、12、16胚龄和0日龄差异显著,花山麻鸡则是63日龄时最高,与其他各阶段差异显著。两品种鸡肌肉和肝脏各个阶段均能检测到IRS1 mRNA的表达,在两品种肌肉中的表达量均表现为9胚龄或者12胚龄最高,与其他各阶段差异显著,随后下降,并在出雏后维持在较低水平;肝脏中IRS1的表达模式与IGF1R一致。IGF1、IGF1R和IRS1基因的表达两两之间均表现出显著或极显著的正相关关系,同时,肌肉中3个基因的表达与体重、胸（腿）肌重存在显著的负相关,而肝脏中3个基因的表达与体重、胸（腿）肌重、肝脏重均存在显著的正相关。【结论】IGF1-PI3K-AKT信号通路相关基因之间存在一致性趋势,品种间和组织间表达量的差异可能正是不同类型黄羽肉鸡生长发育差异的主要原因之一。     

鸡IHH基因生物信息学及组织特异性表达分析

为分析鸡印度刺猬因子(Indian hedgehog，IHH)基因生物信息学及IHH基因在不同组织中特异性表达规律，选取体重相近、健康强健的6只鸡，借助生物信息学手段，对IHH基因结构、启动子和CpG岛进行分析，并通过实时荧光定量PCR检测IHH基因在鸡心、肝、脾、肺、肾、软骨、下丘脑、胸肌、十二指肠和胸腺组织中的特异性表达规律，同时对IHH蛋白进行相似性比较，并利用生物信息学分析IHH蛋白的理化和结构特性。结果表明，1)鸡IHH基因开放阅读框长度为1 227 bp，可编码408个氨基酸，具有3个外显子、4个核心启动子区和1个CpG岛。2)成功扩增IHH基因，IHH基因在鸡各组织中均有不同水平的mRNA表达，在软骨组织中相对表达量最高，在心、脾和胸腺组织中的表达量相对较低。3)鸡IHH蛋白在禽类中保守性较高，IHH蛋白大小为44.829 36 ku，属于偏碱性蛋白，具有1个跨膜端和1个信号肽；IHH蛋白二级结构中无规则卷曲的比例最高(44.12%)，只含有1个 HH-Signal功能域，内含大部分丝氨酸磷酸化位点，该蛋白还有14个苏氨酸磷酸化位点和5个酪氨酸磷酸化位点，鸡IHH蛋白存在1处N型糖基化位点和6处O型糖基化位点。综上，鸡IHH基因有3个外显子，有多个启动子区，在软骨组织中极显著高表达，鸡IHH蛋白是具有偏碱性、强热稳性和低亲水性的分泌型蛋白，IHH氨基酸序列在物种进化过程中比较保守，本研究为深入研究鸡IHH基因对软骨发育的调控作用提供依据。     

Expression of Chicken Toll-Like Receptors and Signal Adaptors in Spleen and Cecum of Young Chickens Infected with Eimeria tenella

Toll-like receptors （TLRs） are a group of highly conserved molecules which initiate the innate immune response to pathogens by recognizing structural motifs of microbes. Understanding the changes in chicken Toll-like receptors （ChTLRs） and signal adaptors expression that occur with Eimeria tenella infection will help to elucidate the molecular basis of immune control of coccidiosis caused by Eimeria. The present study detected the dynamic changes in the expression of ChTLRs and associated signal adaptors in the spleen and cecum ofE. tenella-infected chickens during the early stage of infection. The results showed that the expression peak for ChTLRs, MyD88 and TRIF occurred at 12 h post-infection （hpi）, ChTLR3, ChTLRI 5 and MyD88 mRNA expression in the spleen ofE. tenella infected chickens were significantly higher （P〈0.05） than that of negative control chickens, and there were similar tendencies of these molecules expression in the cecum and spleen of E. tenella-infected chickens. The expression of MyD88 was upregnlated at four time points in the cecum of E. tenella-infected chickens. The results of this study indicate that ChTLR3, ChTLR15 and MyD88 play a role in young chickens infected with E. tenella.     

鼠伤寒沙门氏菌感染诱导鸡盲肠及脾脏TLR基因差异表达

为研究鼠伤寒沙门氏菌感染后不同时间鸡盲肠和脾脏组织TLR4、TLR5、TLR15和TLR21 mRNA的表达规律,选用沙门氏菌阴性济宁百日鸡36只,随机分为2组,饲喂于隔离器中,2日龄分别接种1.23×108cfu鼠伤寒沙门氏菌和PBS溶液,接种后第1、3和7天采集盲肠和脾脏组织样品,应用荧光定量PCR检测感染后各时间、各组织中TLR4、TLR5、TLR15和TLR21的表达量。结果显示,1)济宁百日鸡感染鼠伤寒沙门氏菌后盲肠中TLR4、TLR5、TLR15和TLR21表达量均发生显著变化(P0.05);2)脾脏中TLR21和TLR4的表达量分别在接种后第1天和第3天显著上调(P0.05),而TLR5和TLR15的表达量差异不显著;3)感染后各时间点脾脏中TLR5的表达量显著低于盲肠(P0.01),而TLR4、TLR15和TLR21表达量均显著高于盲肠(P0.05)。鼠伤寒沙门氏菌感染后,鸡TLRs在盲肠和脾脏中发挥着不同的调控作用,而且这种表达调控表现出一定的时序性。     

Whole genome SNPs among 8 chicken breeds enable identification of genetic signatures that underlie breed features

Many different chicken breeds are found around the world, their features vary among them, and they are valuable resources. Currently, there is a huge lack of knowledge of the genetic determinants responsible for phenotypic and biochemical properties of these breeds of chickens. Understanding the underlying genetic mechanisms that explain across-breed variation can help breeders develop improved chicken breeds. The whole-genomes of 140 chickens from 7 Shandong native breeds and 20 introduced recessive white chickens from China were re-sequenced. Comparative population genomics based on autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed geographically based clusters among the chickens. Through genome-wide scans for selective sweeps, we identified thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR, reproductive traits, circadian rhythm), erythrocyte membrane protein band 4.1 like 1 (EPB41L1, body size), and alkylglycerol monooxygenase (AGMO, aggressive behavior), as major candidate breed-specific determining genes in chickens. In addition, we used a machine learning classification model to predict chicken breeds based on the SNPs significantly associated with recourse characteristics, and the prediction accuracy was 92%, which can effectively achieve the breed identification of Laiwu Black chickens. We provide the first comprehensive genomic data of the Shandong indigenous chickens. Our analyses revealed phylogeographic patterns among the Shandong indigenous chickens and candidate genes that potentially contribute to breed-specific traits of the chickens. In addition, we developed a machine learning-based prediction model using SNP data to identify chicken breeds. The genetic basis of indigenous chicken breeds revealed in this study is useful to better understand the mechanisms underlying the resource characteristics of chicken.     

鸡生长发育早期骨骼肌IGF1R mRNA表达规律研究

以生长速度不同的花山麻鸡和清远麻鸡为试验素材,采用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测鸡9、12、16、21胚龄(E9 d、E12 d、E16 d、E21 d)和出雏后7日龄(7 d)时胸肌和腿肌中IGF1R mRNA表达变化情况,并与肌肉质量进行相关性研究。结果发现,21胚龄时,花山麻鸡和清远麻鸡胸肌质量都出现了显著降低,腿肌质量持续增长。花山麻鸡胸肌IGF1R mRNA表达呈前高后低趋势,9胚龄时表达量最高,之后显著降低并维持在较低的水平,出雏后7日龄时表达量再次下降;清远麻鸡在胸肌中的表达则呈“波浪形”,9胚龄和16胚龄表达量升高,其他日龄表达量显著降低。腿肌中,花山麻鸡IGF1R mRNA表达量在16胚龄之后显著降低;清远麻鸡腿肌IGF1R mRNA表达呈依次递减模式,各时间点之间差异显著(P<0.05)。品种间各个时间点胸肌和腿肌IGF1R mRNA表达量均呈显著差异(P<0.05)。两个品种骨骼肌IGF1R mRNA表达与胸肌、腿肌质量均呈极显著相关(P<0.01)。以上结果初步揭示了生长发育早期不同品种鸡胸肌和腿肌IGF1R基因表达发育变化趋势和品种差异,为深入研究IGF1R基因在鸡肌肉发育中的调控机理提供基础资料。     

鸡腺胃型传支病毒的分离及其油乳剂灭活疫苗的研制

从德州市某些鸡场发生的以腺胃肿大为特征病变的病鸡群中收集腺胃组织进行了病原分离。分离病原通过SPF鸡胚传代可见典型的胚胎病变特征 ,电镜观察 ,可见到直径为 80～ 1 4 0nm、有囊膜及纤突呈冠状排列的病毒离子 ;经 1 %胰酶处理后能凝集鸡红细胞 ;接种 1 0日龄SPF雏鸡可引起与自然病例相似的病征及病理变化 ,并从病变组织中再分离到病毒 ,从而确定该分离株为鸡腺胃型传支病毒。用其制成的油乳剂灭活疫苗 ,可使接种鸡获得坚强的免疫力 ,能有效地预防本病的发生。     

Northern Blot and Immunohistochemistry Analysis of HMOX1 Expression in Blue- and Brown-shelled Chickens

HMOX1 is an important functional candidate gene for chicken blue egg in view of its role in biosynthesis of biliverdin for blue egg coloration. To elucidate molecular mechanism of blue egg formation, this study detected expression of HMOX1 in blue-shelled chickens and brown-shelled chickens. Expression and alternative splicing of HMOX1 were detected by Northern blot, expression traits of HO-1 protein in shell glands of blue- （n=4） and brown-shelled （n=4） chickens were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. 3＇ UTR of HMOX1 was cloned using 3＇RACE. Results showed that the expression of HMOX1 at mRNA level had no significant difference between two groups of chickens, but at protein level HO-1 protein was highly expressed in blue-shelled chickens. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that HO-1 protein expression was predominately located in villus epithelial cell of shell gland. Length of HMOX1 3＇ UTR were 586 bp. In 3＇ UTR we found a SNP of rs13866562 showing significant association with blue egg phenotype. Further miRNA prediction showed that it might influence interaction of some miRNAs and target sequences. The data suggested that blue egg is relevant to high expression of HO-1 in villus epithelial cell of shell gland. Further experimental validation for biological relevance of miRNAs is dispensable to elucidate reason for differential expressions of HO-1 protein.     

Two new IncRNAs regulate the key immune factor NOD1 and TRAF5 in chicken lymphocyte

Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) causes the atrophy of immune organs and immuno-suppression in chickens, but the underlying molecular mechanism of the immune response after infection by REV is not well understood. Presently, the RNA-seq was used to analyze the regulation of immune response to REV in chicken lymphocytes from peripheral blood. Overall, 134 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) between cells with REV infection or without in vitro were screened. Based on the differentially expressed protein-coding genes, the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor pathway related to immune regulation was enriched. Two lncRNAs (L11530 and L09863) were predicted to target the NOD1 and tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 5 (TRAF5) gene, respectively, which are involved in the NOD-like receptor pathway with cis-regulation way. The in vitro results revealed the significantly up-regulated (P<0.01) levels of lncRNA-L11530 and its target gene, NOD1, and the significantly down-regulated (P<0.05) levels of lncRNA-L09863 and its target gene, TRAF5, in lymphocytes after REV infection. These changes also occurred in vivo in blood lymphocytes of chickens infected with REV. Further, L09863 and L11530 were respectively interfered, the expression levels of their target genes NOD1 or TRAF5 were significantly down-regulated, accompanied by the change of IL-8 and IL-18 secretions in lymphocytes. The NOD-like receptor pathway appears to be important in the immune response to REV, LncRNA-11530 and IncRNA-09863 might involve in the immune regulation on REV infection by targeting NOD1 or TRAF5 in blood lymphocytes of chickens. Our findings reveal a new regulation of lncRNAs (L11530 and L09863) on immunity in chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes for REV infection by changing the expression of the target genes via the NOD-like receptor pathway.     

Integration of association and computational methods reveals functional variants of LEPR gene for abdominal fat content in chickens

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(N867 I) and rs13684622(C1002 R) could lead to striking changes in the structure and function of proteins, of which rs13684622(C1002 R) 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(C1002 R) 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.     

PGC-1α differentially regulates the mRNA expression profiles of genes related to myofiber type specificity in chicken

Previous studies on mammals showed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α(PGC-1α) played a prominent role in regulating muscle fiber type transition and composition. However, the role of PGC-1α in chicken muscle has seldom been explored. To investigate the effect of PGC-1α on chicken skeletal muscles in this study, the PGC-1α gene was overexpressed or silenced in chicken primary myoblasts by using lentivirus, and then the effects of the PGC-1α gene overexpression and knockdown on the mRNA expression profile of genes related to myofiber type specificity were examined during fiber formation. The results showed that overexpression of PGC-1α from proliferation to differentiation was accompanied by the up-regulated expression of Pax7, MyoD, and CnAα, which was significantly(P0.01) increased after one day of transfection(1 I). The enhancement of MyoG, MEF2 c, and MyHC SM expression lagged, which was improved significantly(P0.01) after four days of transfection(1 I3 D). Overexpression of PGC-1α decreased(P0.01) the MyHC FWM expression after four days of transfection(1 I3 D), and it had no significant impact(P0.05) on the expression of CnB1, NFATc3, and MyHC FRM during myofiber formation. The effective silence(P0.01) of PGC-1α by lentivirus mediating short hairpin RNA(shRNA) was detected after four days of transfection(1 I3 D) in cultures, and the lack of its function in chicken primary myoblasts significantly(P0.01) down-regulated the expression of Pax7, MyoD, CnAα, MyoG, MEF2 c, and MyHC SM, significantly(P0.01) up-regulated the expression of MyHC FWM, and had no significant impact(P0.05) on the expression of CnB1, NFATc3, and MyHC FRM. These results indicated that the role of PGC-1α in regulating the fiber type specificity of chicken skeletal muscles might be similar to that in mammals, which interplayed with key genes related to myocyte differentiation and calcineurin signaling pathway.     

克氏原螯虾泛素结合酶E2r基因的克隆及表达分析

为了解泛素结合酶E2r基因在克氏原螯虾性腺发育中的作用,利用RACE技术得到了c DNA全序列,命名为Pc-UBE2r。该基因序列全长为3 671 bp,包含泛素结合酶的特有结构域,以及半胱氨酸残基活化位点。开放阅读框为729 bp,编码242个氨基酸,预测蛋白分子量约为27.6 ku。BLAST比对发现,克氏原螯虾UBE2r基因与节肢动物UBE2r基因具有较高的同源性。系统进化分析表明,Pc-UBE2r基因与日本囊对虾聚为一枝。qRT-PCR研究表明,Pc-UBE2r基因在性腺中的表达量显著高于其他组织(P0.05)。在卵巢中,PcUBE2r基因的表达量在未发育期最低,在卵黄发生前期表达量快速增长,随后表达量逐渐降低。在精巢中,Pc-UBE2r基因的表达量在精母细胞发生期达到最高水平。组织原位杂交结果显示,Pc-UBE2r基因在卵巢中均匀分布在未发育期的卵母细胞细胞质中,随后逐渐迁移到卵母细胞细胞核以及滤泡细胞周围。在精巢中,Pc-UBE2r基因主要分布在精母细胞的周围。组织总蛋白Western blot检测发现,UBE2r蛋白在精巢和卵巢中的表达量也显著高于其他组织(P0.05)。综上所述,我们推测Pc-UBE2r基因在克氏原螯虾配子发生和性腺发育方面发挥了重要作用,本研究将为虾蟹类性腺发育调控的分子机制奠定基础和提供依据。