title: Polymorphism of avian leukosis virus subgroup E loci showing selective footprints in chicken.
abstract: Avian leukosis virus subgroup E (ALVE) is a family of endogenous retroviruses in the chicken genome. To investigate the genetic consequences of chicken domestication, we analyzed 18 ALVE loci in red jungle fowls, layers, broilers, and Chinese indigenous chickens. None of the ALVE loci tested were found in red jungle fowls, but 12 were present in domestic chickens. ALVE1 and ALVE16 are found in regions of the genome that harbor quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting egg production traits. ALVE1 was fixed and ALVE16 was detected only in layers. By contrast, ALVE-b1, ALVE-b5, ALVE-b6, and ALVE-b8 integrated into regions of the genome that harbor QTL affecting meat production traits. Carrier frequencies of these four ALVE loci were high in broilers and low in Chinese local chickens; the loci were not found in the layers. This study demonstrated that insertionally polymorphic ALVE loci can illustrate the selective footprints in the chicken genome.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Chunyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chunfen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Dingming
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001354:Avian Leukosis Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D016678:Genome; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers