mRNA expression  profiles of calmodulin and liver receptor homolog-1 genes in chickens.
Calmodulin  (CALM), a calcium-binding protein, is expressed in the  hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis; it plays a pivotal role in the  reproductive system by regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone signaling.  Downstream of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal signaling pathways, liver  receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is involved in female gonadal hormone synthesis. In  the chicken, although the two genes are known to be associated with  reproductive traits, the interaction between gonadotropins and gonadal  steroids remains unclear. We used quantitative real-time PCR to quantify the  tissular (hypothalamus, pituitary, ovary, liver, kidney, oviduct, heart) and  ontogenetic (12, 18, 32, and 45 weeks) mRNA expression profiles of CALM and LRH-1 in Erlang Mountainous chickens to determine their roles in the  endocrine control of fertility, and compared these profiles with expression in  Roman chickens. We found that the relative expressions of CALM and LRH-1 genes had the highest levels in the pituitary and ovary at 32 weeks. The  expression level of CALM mRNA in the pituitary of Roman chickens was  significantly higher than that in Erlang Mountainous chickens at 32 and 45  weeks, while the LRH-1 transcript level in the ovaries of Roman  chickens was significantly lower than that of Erlang Mountainous chickens at  32 and 45 weeks. In summary, the transcript levels of CALM and LRH-1 genes  are associated with chicken reproductive traits; in addition, we found that the CALM gene is the key regulator in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal  signaling network.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, Sichuan, China.
Z-C
ZC
Zhang
L-H
LH
Xiao
Y
Y
Wang
S-Y
SY
Chen
Z-Q
ZQ
Yang
X-L
XL
Zhao
Q
Q
Zhu
Y-P
YP
Liu
D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D002147:Calmodulin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear