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Publishing Language: Chinese

Study of Key Genes and Signaling Pathways Regulating Dry Feather Traits in Yellow-Feathered Broiler Chickens Based on Transcriptome Analysis

GaiGe JI1, ZhiWu CHEN2, YanJu SHAN1, YiFan LIU1, YunJie TU1, JianMin ZOU1, Ming ZHANG1, XiaoJun JU1, JingTing SHU1(), HaiTao ZHANG3, YanFei TANG4, HuaLian JIANG4
Key Laboratory of Poultry Genetics and Breeding of Jiangsu Province/Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Sciences, Yangzhou 225125, Jiangsu
Guangxi Jinling Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Group Co., Ltd., Nanning 530000
Jiangsu Lihua Animal Husbandry Stock Co., Ltd., Changzhou 213168, Jiangsu
Guangxi Fufeng Farm Group Co., Ltd., Nanning 530024
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Abstract

【Objective】

The study aimed to identify important candidate genes and signaling pathways associated with dry feather traits by comparing the morphological and gene expression differences between the feather follicles of dry and undried feathers.

【Method】

Three samples of skin tissue were selected from each of the undried and dried feathers. The histological examinations were used to compare the morphological differences between the feather follicles of dried and undried feathers. RNA-seq technology was employed to compare the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two groups of skin samples. The accuracy of transcriptome results was validated by using the fluorescent quantitative PCR technique (RT-qPCR).

【Result】

By histological H.E staining, it was confirmed that the feather follicles of the undried feathers were in the growth phase, while the feather follicles of the dried feathers were in the resting phase. The feather follicle skin samples at the growth stage were used as controls, 942 DEGs were identified in resting feather follicle samples (|fold-change|>2 and P<0.05), including 384 significantly down-regulated DEGs and 558 upregulated DEGs. Gene ontology (Go) analysis suggested that the DEGs were significantly enriched in cell division, cycle regulation, and other related biological processes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway results showed that the DEGs were related to MAPK, TGF-β, p53, and cell cycle-related signaling pathways. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed and six hub genes were obtained by CytoHubba analysis, including CDK1, MAD2L1, BUB1, CCNB2, PLK1, and BUB1B. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) results indicated that the signaling pathways related to the tight junction, insulin, MAPK, TGF-β, and cell cycle-related pathways were significantly associated with the growth cycle of chicken feather follicles. The expression patterns of 8 DEGs detected by RT-qPCR were consistent with the RNA-seq results.

【Conclusion】

In summary, the dry feather traits of chickens were related to the development of feather follicle cycles. Signaling pathways such as MAPK and TGF-β might play important roles in feather growth and development by regulating the expression of cell cycle-related genes. The study provided clues for understanding the molecular regulatory mechanisms for dry feather traits in yellow-feathered broiler chickens.

Keywords

chickendry featherfeather follicleRNA-seqgenesignaling pathway

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Scientia Agricultura Sinica
Volume 57 Issue 1,
January 2024
Pages 204-215
DOI: 10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2024.01.014
Cite this article:
JI G, CHEN Z, SHAN Y, et al. Study of Key Genes and Signaling Pathways Regulating Dry Feather Traits in Yellow-Feathered Broiler Chickens Based on Transcriptome Analysis. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 2024, 57(1): 204-215. https://doi.org/10.3864/j.issn.0578-1752.2024.01.014
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