Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (8): 3761-3772.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.08.018

• Animal Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Screening and Identification of Molecular Markers for Differentiating Taihang Chickens and Bashang Long-tailed Chickens

FU Wei1(), ZHANG Ran1, DING Hong2, ZANG Sumin1, LI Xianglong3, CHU Suqiao4, LIU Huage2, ZHOU Rongyan1,*()   

  1. 1. Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, China
    2. Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine of Hebei Province, Baoding 071000, China
    3. Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao 066600, China
    4. Shijiazhuang Animal Husbandry Technology Promotion Station, Shijiazhuang 050000, China
  • Received:2025-01-22 Online:2025-08-23 Published:2025-08-28
  • Contact: ZHOU Rongyan E-mail:fw5820804@163.com;rongyanzhou@126.com

Abstract:

The aim was to distinguish between Taihang chickens and Bashang long-tailed chickens using a small number of SNPs by screening characteristic SNPs molecular markers. The whole genome resequencing data from 61 Taihang and 56 Bashang long-tailed chickens were used to extract important SNPs through linkage disequilibrium and population differentiation index analyses. Six machine learning classification models were adopted to predict individual categories and evaluate the model performance. The random forest model was used to evaluate the importance of SNPs, and the minimum number of SNPs were selected according to the accuracy, recall rate and AUC value. The effect was validated using principal component analysis, phylogenetic tree, and a genomic relationship matrix. A total of 28 SNPs were identified that effectively discriminate between Taihang and Bashang long-tailed chickens. The SNPs were primarily located in intergenic and intronic regions and were significantly enriched in the GO biological processes related to immunity, histone acetylation, metabolism as well as in the KEGG signaling pathway for base excision repair. Additionally, we identified genes associated with immunity (BCL11B, AvBD13, KAT7), lipid metabolism (URI1, RREB1, ZBTB20), and adaptability (ZNF536). The identified molecular marker combinations with integration of population genetics and machine learning techniques could distinguish Taihang and Bashang long-tailed chicken breeds. This study provides valuable insights for the development of "molecular identity cards" for local breeds, contributing to the conservation and identification of germplasm resources.

Key words: Taihang chicken, Bashang long-tailed chicken, molecular marker, machine learning

CLC Number: