The goose genome sequence leads to insights into the evolution of waterfowl and susceptibility to fatty liver.
BACKGROUND
Geese were domesticated over 6,000 years ago, making them one of the first domesticated poultry. Geese are capable of rapid growth, disease resistance, and high liver lipid storage capacity, and can be easily fed coarse fodder. Here, we sequence and analyze the whole-genome sequence of an economically important goose breed in China and compare it with that of terrestrial bird species.


RESULTS
A draft sequence of the whole-goose genome was obtained by shotgun sequencing, and 16,150 protein-coding genes were predicted. Comparative genomics indicate that significant differences occur between the goose genome and that of other terrestrial bird species, particularly regarding major histocompatibility complex, Myxovirus resistance, Retinoic acid-inducible gene I, and other genes related to disease resistance in geese. In addition, analysis of transcriptome data further reveals a potential molecular mechanism involved in the susceptibility of geese to fatty liver disease and its associated symptoms, including high levels of unsaturated fatty acids and low levels of cholesterol. The results of this study show that deletion of the goose lep gene might be the result of positive selection, thus allowing the liver to adopt energy storage mechanisms for long-distance migration.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report describing the complete goose genome sequence and contributes to genomic resources available for studying aquatic birds. The findings in this study are useful not only for genetic breeding programs, but also for studying lipid metabolism disorders.
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. Lulizhibox@163.com.
Lizhi
L
Lu
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. chenyan@genomics.cn.
Yan
Y
Chen
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. wangzhuo@genomics.cn.
Zhuo
Z
Wang
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. lixiaofeng@genomics.cn.
Xiaofeng
X
Li
Institute of Zhedong White Goose, Xianshan, China. 317992345@qq.com.
Weihu
W
Chen
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. speed-boat003@sohu.com.
Zhengrong
Z
Tao
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. shenjunda66@sina.com.
Junda
J
Shen
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. tyong@mail.zaas.ac.cn.
Yong
Y
Tian
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. wangdeqian2002@sohu.com.
Deqian
D
Wang
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. ligq@mail.zaas.ac.cn.
Guoqin
G
Li
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. kuaileqianjin@163.com.
Li
L
Chen
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. 582689714@qq.com.
Fang
F
Chen
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. fangdongming@genomics.cn.
Dongming
D
Fang
BGI-Tech, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. yulili@genomics.cn.
Lili
L
Yu
BGI-Tech, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. sunyudong@genomics.cn.
Yudong
Y
Sun
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. mayong@genomics.cn.
Yong
Y
Ma
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China. lijinjun@mail.zaas.ac.cn.
Jinjun
J
Li
BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518083, China. wangj@genomics.cn.|Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. wangj@genomics.cn.|King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. wangj@genomics.cn.
Jun
J
Wang
D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D001717:Birds / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D055028:Comparative Genomic Hybridization; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000662:veterinary; D005777:Geese / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D059467:Transcriptome