title: A medium density genetic map and QTL for behavioral and production traits in Japanese quail.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Behavioral traits such as sociability, emotional reactivity and aggressiveness are major factors in animal adaptation to breeding conditions. In order to investigate the genetic control of these traits as well as their relationships with production traits, a study was undertaken on a large second generation cross (F2) between two lines of Japanese Quail divergently selected on their social reinstatement behavior. All the birds were measured for several social behaviors (social reinstatement, response to social isolation, sexual motivation, aggression), behaviors measuring the emotional reactivity of the birds (reaction to an unknown object, tonic immobility reaction), and production traits (body weight and egg production).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report the results of the first genome-wide QTL detection based on a medium density SNP panel obtained from whole genome sequencing of a pool of individuals from each divergent line. A genetic map was constructed using 2145 markers among which 1479 could be positioned on 28 different linkage groups. The sex-averaged linkage map spanned a total of 3057 cM with an average marker spacing of 2.1 cM. With the exception of a few regions, the marker order was the same in Japanese Quail and the chicken, which confirmed a well conserved synteny between the two species. The linkage analyses performed using QTLMAP software revealed a total of 45 QTLs related either to behavioral (23) or production (22) traits. The most numerous QTLs (15) concerned social motivation traits. Interestingly, our results pinpointed putative pleiotropic regions which controlled emotional reactivity and body-weight of birds (on CJA5 and CJA8) or their social motivation and the onset of egg laying (on CJA19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study identified several QTL regions for social and emotional behaviors in the Quail. Further research will be needed to refine the QTL and confirm or refute the role of candidate genes, which were suggested by bioinformatics analysis. It can be hoped that the identification of genes and polymorphisms related to behavioral traits in the quail will have further applications for other poultry species (especially the chicken) and will contribute to solving animal welfare issues in poultry production.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR83 Recherches Avicoles, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Julien.Recoquillay@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Recoquillay
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. frederique.pitel@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. frederique.pitel@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. frederique.pitel@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pitel
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. cecile.arnould@tours.inra.fr.|CNRS, UMR7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. cecile.arnould@tours.inra.fr.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, F-37000, Tours, France. cecile.arnould@tours.inra.fr.|IFCE, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. cecile.arnould@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arnould
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Sophie.Leroux@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Sophie.Leroux@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Sophie.Leroux@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Patrice.Dehais@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Patrice.Dehais@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Patrice.Dehais@toulouse.inra.fr.|INRA, Sigenae UR875 Biométrie et Intelligence Artificielle, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Patrice.Dehais@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dehais
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Carole.Moreno@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Carole.Moreno@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Carole.Moreno@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moréno
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Ludovic.Calandreau@tours.inra.fr.|CNRS, UMR7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Ludovic.Calandreau@tours.inra.fr.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, F-37000, Tours, France. Ludovic.Calandreau@tours.inra.fr.|IFCE, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Ludovic.Calandreau@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calandreau
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Aline.Bertin@tours.inra.fr.|CNRS, UMR7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Aline.Bertin@tours.inra.fr.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, F-37000, Tours, France. Aline.Bertin@tours.inra.fr.|IFCE, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Aline.Bertin@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertin
authors.affiliation: UE1295 Pôle d'Expérimentation Avicole de Tours, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. David.Gourichon@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gourichon
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Olivier.Bouchez@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Olivier.Bouchez@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Olivier.Bouchez@toulouse.inra.fr.|INRA, GeT-PlaGe Genotoul, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. Olivier.Bouchez@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bouchez
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. alain.vignal@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. alain.vignal@toulouse.inra.fr.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. alain.vignal@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vignal
authors.affiliation: UMR INRA/Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. maine.fariello@gmail.com.|INPT ENSAT / Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. maine.fariello@gmail.com.|INPT ENVT Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage, INRA, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France. maine.fariello@gmail.com.|Institut Pasteur, Montevideo, Uruguay. maine.fariello@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria Ines
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Fariello
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR1313 GABI Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, F-78530, Jouy-en-Josas, France. francis_minvielle@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Minvielle
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR83 Recherches Avicoles, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Catherine.Beaumont@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beaumont
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Christine.Leterrier@tours.inra.fr.|CNRS, UMR7247, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Christine.Leterrier@tours.inra.fr.|Université François Rabelais de Tours, F-37000, Tours, France. Christine.Leterrier@tours.inra.fr.|IFCE, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. Christine.Leterrier@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leterrier
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR83 Recherches Avicoles, F-37380, Nouzilly, France. lebihan@tours.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Le Bihan-Duval
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003370:Coturnix / Q000235:genetics*; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D016678:Genome; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012919:Social Behavior