Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (1): 155-166.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2026.01.014

• ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on Genetic Relationships and Genomic Differences of Local Chicken Breeds in Xinjiang

YANG Kai1,2(), LI Dongfeng2, SHAO Yonggang3, ZHAI Manjun3, BAI Xianguang1, ZHANG Lifan2()   

  1. 1.College of Medical,Pingdingshan University,Pingdingshan 467000,China
    2.College of Animal Science and Technology,Nanjing Agricultural University,Nanjing 210095,China
    3.College of Animal Science,Xinjiang Agricultural University,Urumqi 830052,China
  • Received:2025-06-09 Online:2026-01-23 Published:2026-01-26
  • Contact: ZHANG Lifan E-mail:3202488467@qq.com;lifanzhang@njau.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study aimed to reveal the genetic relationships and genomic differences among 3 Xinjiang local chicken breeds including Baicheng-You chickens, Hetian chickens, and Tulufan chickens, so as to provide references for the protection and utilization of genetic resources of local domestic chickens in Xinjiang at the genomic level. The research took 65 chickens whole-genome resequencing datasets as the research objects and utilized softwares such as Rstudio, Plink, and Pedstats to filter the data. The population genetic structure of different chicken breeds was analyzed through identical by state (IBS) multi-dimensional scaling. Gene infiltration analysis was carried out using Treemix and Dsuite. The selection signals were mined by using the cross population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) and cross population composite likelihood radio test (XP-CLR) methods. After filtering, a total of 10 228 705 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained for analyzing the introgression and selection signals, while 4 657 217 autosomal SNPs with minor allele frequency (MAF)≥0.2 were used for genetic relationship analysis. The results of genetic relationship showed that the genetic distance between Baicheng-You and Tulufan chickens was farthest, and their genetic differentiation coefficient (FST) was 0.077 7, while the genetic distance between Hetian and Baicheng-You, Tulufan chickens were close and the FST was 0.053 5 and 0.056 3, respectively. Furthermore, there was an introgression event between Hetian and Tulufan chickens. The highest score of introgression region located in the chromosome 4, which contained some genes associated with heat tolerance, such as ABLIM2. While selection signals analysis between Baicheng-You and Tulufan chickens identified 70 candidate genes involved in important biological processes. Among them, genes such as CLCN6, ACTA2, CRIM1, and IARS2 might be related to the heat resistance performance; Genes such as BNIP2, DTNA, and RAB3GAP2 might be involved in the regulation of muscle growth; Genes such as AGMOTSNARE1 might be related to the formation of aggressive behavior in cockfighting. The research clearly revealed the genetic relationships among 3 local chicken breeds in Xinjiang, discovered the genomic infiltration regions and related genes between the Hetian and Tulufan chickens, and identified the genomic selection regions between the Baicheng-You and Tulufan chickens and the candidate genes related to characteristic traits such as heat tolerance, muscle growth, and aggressive behavior of fighting chickens. Thus providing molecular basis for the protection and utilization of the characteristic traits of chicken breeds in Xinjiang.

Key words: whole genome resequencing, chickens, genetic structure, gene introgression, selection signal

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