title: Comparative population genomics reveals genetic basis underlying body size of domestic chickens.
abstract: Body size is the most important economic trait for animal production and breeding. Several hundreds of loci have been reported to be associated with growth trait and body weight in chickens. The loci are mapped to large genomic regions due to the low density and limited number of genetic markers in previous studies. Herein, we employed comparative population genomics to identify genetic basis underlying the small body size of Yuanbao chicken (a famous ornamental chicken) based on 89 whole genomes. The most significant signal was mapped to the BMP10 gene, whose expression was upregulated in the Yuanbao chicken. Overexpression of BMP10 induced a significant decrease in body length by inhibiting angiogenic vessel development in zebrafish. In addition, three other loci on chromosomes 1, 2, and 24 were also identified to be potentially involved in the development of body size. Our results provide a paradigm shift in identification of novel loci controlling body size variation, availing a fast and efficient strategy. These loci, particularly BMP10, add insights into ongoing research of the evolution of body size under artificial selection and have important implications for future chicken breeding.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Shan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|College of Life Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Xia
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Newton O
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Otecko
authors.affiliation: Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Yan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Fang
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Min-Sheng
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: He-Qun
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China.|Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada.|Banting and Best Diabetes Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4, Canada.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Gang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China wudongdong@mail.kiz.ac.cn zhangyp@mail.kiz.ac.cn.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Dong
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Kunming 650223, China wudongdong@mail.kiz.ac.cn zhangyp@mail.kiz.ac.cn.|Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.|Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000235:genetics*; D020029:Base Pairing / Q000235:genetics; D049628:Body Size / Q000235:genetics*; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000235:genetics; D056426:Genetic Loci; D005828:Genetics, Population; D023281:Genomics; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins
keywords: artificial selection; body size; comparative population genomics; domestication