title: Expression of 25 high egg production related transcripts that identified from hypothalamus and pituitary gland in red-feather Taiwan country chickens.
abstract: Expression levels of 33 high egg production candidate transcripts in Red-feather Taiwan country chickens (TCCs) were examined by quantitative reverse-transcription (RT) polymerase chain reactions (PCR) in this study. Candidate transcripts were previously identified from a L2-B (L2-subtract-B) hypothalamus/pituitary gland subtractive cDNA library. In this subtractive cDNA library, two divergently selected strains of TCCs, B and L2 were used. These two strains were originated from one single population and were further subjected (since 1982) to the selections of body weight/comb size (B) and eggs to 40wk of age (L2), respectively. Hypothalamuses and pituitary glands that sampled from Red-feather TCCs were previously grouped into high (Red-high; n=20) and low (Red-low; n=20) egg productions based on the rate of lay after 1st egg (hen-day laying rate; %). Rates of lay after 1st egg (mean+/-S.E.) in the Red-high and the Red-low subpopulations were 72.2+/-0.6 and 23.0+/-3.5, respectively (P<0.01). Quantitative RT-PCR validated that 25 candidate transcripts were significantly higher expressed in the Red-high than in the Red-low hens. These transcripts were ANP32A, BDH, CDC42, CNTN1, COMT, CPE, CTNNB1, DIO2, EIF4E, GARNL1, HSPCA, LAPTM4B, MBP, NAP1L4, NCAM1, PARK7, PCDHA@, PGDS, PLAG1, PRL, RAD21, SAR1A, SCG2, STMN1 and UFM1. Among these transcripts, 15 (79.0%), 13 (68.4%), and 12 (63.2%) genes were annotated to involve in cellular physiological process (GO:0050875), metabolism (GO:0008152) and cell communication (GO:0007154). Identified transcripts that related to high egg production are most active in focal adhesion, adherens junction, MAPK signaling, tight junction and cell adhesion pathways.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiology, Livestock Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lih-Ren
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ching-Hsien
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Chih-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yen-Pai
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yi-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yow-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Shiue
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D003116:Color; D005241:Feathers / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000662:veterinary*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D010058:Oviposition / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D013624:Taiwan; D014158:Transcription, Genetic