Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (11): 4950-4967.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2024.11.015

• Animal Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Screening Candidate Genes for Ovarian Development and Constructing Regulatory Network in Nesting Chickens by Transcriptome and Proteome

Ting JIANG1(), Wendong LI1, Xingqi LI1, Yu HUANG1, Qigui WANG2, Haiwei WANG2, Chaowu YANG3, Lingbin LIU1,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
    2. Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing 402460, China
    3. Sichuan Animal Science Academy, Chengdu 610066, China
  • Received:2024-05-13 Online:2024-11-23 Published:2024-11-30
  • Contact: Lingbin LIU E-mail:jiangt019@163.com;liulb515@163.com

Abstract:

The study aimed to investigate the potential regulatory mechanism of nesting ability of laying hens. The 12 300-day-old Chengkou mountain chickens with good body condition and the same body weight were used in this study. Among them, 3 individuals were in normal laying period, and the remaining 9 individuals were in nesting period for 10, 20 and 30 days, respectively. The ovarian tissues of laying hens in each group were collected for anatomical observation. Normal ovary (NO) and atrophic ovary (AO) of laying hens were analyzed by RNA-seq and iTRAQ sequencing technology. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were screened and functional enrichment analysis was performed to identify candidate genes related to nesting in poultry. The results showed that ovary atrophy and follicle atresia occurred in nesting hens. A total of 930 DEGs were identified in ovarian tissues, of which 430 genes were up-regulated and 500 genes were down-regulated. Meanwhile, 546 DEPs were identified, of which 178 proteins were up-regulated and 368 proteins were down-regulated. Through functional annotation and enrichment analysis, it was found that these DEGs and DEPs were significantly enriched in ECM receptor interaction, adhesion and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Finally, 7 candidate genes for nesting ability COMP, FN1, ITGA8, THBS1, COL4A2, COL4A1 and COL1A1 were selected by combined transcriptome and proteome analysis. In summary, key candidate genes for nesting ability were identified by transcriptome and proteome analysis, and a regulatory network for ovarian development in nesting poultry was constructed. This study provides a theoretical reference for further understanding the molecular regulation mechanism of ovarian atrophy at nesting stage, enriches the candidate genes regulating poultry nesting traits, and provides theoretical basis for genetic improvement and molecular breeding research of laying hens.

Key words: nesting, ovary, transcriptome, proteome, Chengkou mountain chicken

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