title: Genome-wide association studies for feed intake and efficiency in two laying periods of chickens.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Feed contributes to over 60 % of the total production costs in the poultry industry. Increasing feed costs prompt geneticists to include feed intake and efficiency as selection goals in breeding programs. In the present study, we used an F2 chicken population in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect potential genetic variants and candidate genes associated with daily feed intake (FI) and feed efficiency, including residual feed intake (RFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1534 F2 hens from a White Leghorn and Dongxiang reciprocal cross were phenotyped for feed intake and efficiency between 37 and 40 weeks (FI1, RFI1, and FCR1) and between 57 and 60 weeks (FI2, RFI2, and FCR2), and genotyped using the chicken 600 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array. Univariate, bivariate, and conditional genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed with GEMMA, a genome-wide efficient mixed model association algorithm. The statistical significance threshold for association was inferred by the simpleM method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified eight genomic regions that each contained at least one genetic variant that showed a significant association with FI. Genomic regions on Gallus gallus (GGA) chromosome 4 coincided with known quantitative trait loci (QTL) that affect feed intake of layers. Of particular interest, eight SNPs on GGA1 in the region between 169.23 and 171.55 Mb were consistently associated with FI in both univariate and bivariate GWAS, which explained 3.72 and 2.57 % of the phenotypic variance of FI1 and FI2, respectively. The CAB39L gene can be considered as a promising candidate for FI1. For RFI, a haplotype block on GGA27 harbored a significant SNP associated with RFI2. The major allele of rs315135692 was favorable for a lower RFI, with a phenotypic difference of 3.35 g/day between opposite homozygous genotypes. Strong signals on GGA1 were detected in the bivariate GWAS for FCR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrated the polygenic nature of feed intake. GWAS identified novel variants and confirmed a QTL that was previously reported for feed intake in chickens. Genetic variants associated with feed efficiency may be used in genomic breeding programs to select more efficient layers.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China. amstrongyuan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jingwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, 225125, People's Republic of China. sqbreeding@126.com.
authors.forename: Kehua
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China. yiguoqiang20@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, 225125, People's Republic of China. meng-2005@163.com.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, 225125, People's Republic of China. yzdtc@126.com.
authors.forename: Taocun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China. cjsun@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Congjiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China. quluj@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lu-Jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, 225125, People's Republic of China. shenman2005@163.com.
authors.forename: Manman
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, 225125, People's Republic of China. quliang19820603@163.com.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China. nyang@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study / Q000379:methods*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D000068618:Selective Breeding