title: Genetic architecture dissection by genome-wide association analysis reveals avian eggshell ultrastructure traits.
abstract: The ultrastructure of an eggshell is considered the major determinant of eggshell quality, which has biological and economic significance for the avian and poultry industries. However, the interrelationships and genome-wide architecture of eggshell ultrastructure remain to be elucidated. Herein, we measured eggshell thickness (EST), effective layer thickness (ET), mammillary layer thickness (MT), and mammillary density (MD) and conducted genome-wide association studies in 927 F2 hens. The SNP-based heritabilities of eggshell ultrastructure traits were estimated to be 0.39, 0.36, 0.17 and 0.19 for EST, ET, MT and MD, respectively, and a total of 719, 784, 1 and 10 genome-wide significant SNPs were associated with EST, ET, MT and MD, respectively. ABCC9, ITPR2, KCNJ8 and WNK1, which are involved in ion transport, were suggested to be the key genes regulating EST and ET. ITM2C and KNDC1 likely affect MT and MD, respectively. Additionally, there were linear relationships between the chromosome lengths and the variance explained per chromosome for EST (R(2) = 0.57) and ET (R(2) = 0.67). In conclusion, the interrelationships and genetic architecture of eggshell ultrastructure traits revealed in this study are valuable for our understanding of the avian eggshell and contribute to research on a variety of other calcified shells.
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, China.
authors.forename: Zhongyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Duan
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, China.
authors.forename: Congjiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225125, China.
authors.forename: ManMan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Poultry Science, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, 225125, China.
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, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
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, China.
authors.forename: Jiangxia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
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, China.
authors.forename: Guiyun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D016678:Genome; D007477:Ions; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D007477:Ions