title: Expression of positional candidates for shell thickness in the chicken.
abstract: Expression of 12 positional candidates for QTL affecting shell thickness at 53 wk of lay age (ST53) was investigated by real-time PCR in the distal part of chicken oviducts (uterus) with a forming eggshell. In the local chicken breed Green-legged Partridgenous, the complete cDNA CR523443 (ChEST985k21) was downregulated with ratio of means 0.49 (P < or = 0.01) in the group with low ST53 (248.6 +/- 16.62 microm) relative to the group with the highest ST53 (372.4 +/- 2.07 microm). Expression of this gene was highly correlated (0.85, P < or = 0.01) with shell thickness. No significant difference in expression between the 2 groups with thick (378.4 +/- 3.65 microm) and thin (227.8 +/- 8.99 microm) shell and no significant correlation of expression level with ST53 were detected in Rhode Island Red, which could be explained by strict selection to egg quality traits, including optimal shell thickness in this commercial layer breed. These data suggested that CR523443 was a candidate gene for QTL ST53 in the chicken.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding, Russian Academy of Agricultural Science, Moskovskoye sh. 55A, St Petersburg, Pushkin 196601, Russia. alexei_sazanov@mail.ru
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sazanov
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Stekol'nikova
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korczak
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Sazanova
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jaszczak
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zieba
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malewski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000662:veterinary; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*