Atopic dermatitis (AD) usually develops in patients with an individual or family history of allergic diseases, and is characterized by chronic relapsing inflammation seen especially in childhood, association with IgE hyperproduction and precipitation by environmental factors. However, the exact etiology of AD has been unclear. To further explore the pathogenesis and treatment of AD, a suitable animal model is required. We found that skin lesions, which were clinically and histologically very similar to human AD, spontaneously appeared on the face, neck, ears and dorsal skin of inbred NC/Nga mice when they were raised in non-sterile (conventional) circumstances, but not under specific pathogen-free conditions. Plasma levels of total IgE in conventional NC/Nga mice were markedly elevated from 8 weeks of age, correlating with clinical skin severity of dermatitis. Immunohistochemical examination of the skin lesion showed increased numbers of mast cells and CD4+ T cells containing IL-4 necessary for IgE synthesis. Thus, NC/Nga mice suffered from dermatitis very similar to human AD with IgE hyperproduction, which may be triggered by some environmental factor(s).

To define the process of karyotypic evolution in the Galliformes on a molecular basis, we conducted genome-wide comparative chromosome painting for eight species, i.e. silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), Lady Amherst’s pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae), ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), Chinese bamboo-partridge (Bambusicola thoracica) and common peafowl (Pavo cristatus) of the Phasianidae, and plain chachalaca (Ortalis vetula) of the Cracidae, with chicken DNA probes of chromosomes 1–9 and Z. Including our previous data from five other species, chicken (Gallus gallus), Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) and blue-breasted quail (Coturnix chinensis) of the Phasianidae, guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) of the Numididae and California quail (Callipepla californica) of the Odontophoridae, we represented the evolutionary changes of karyotypes in the 13 species of the Galliformes. In addition, we compared the cytogenetic data with the molecular phylogeny of the 13 species constructed with the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, and discussed the process of karyotypic evolution in the Galliformes. Comparative chromosome painting confirmed the previous data on chromosome rearrangements obtained by G-banding analysis, and identified several novel chromosome rearrangements. The process of the evolutionary changes of macrochromosomes in the 13 species was in good accordance with the molecular phylogeny, and the ancestral karyotype of the Galliformes is represented.

A mutation that confers white plumage with black eyes was identified in the Minohiki breed of Japanese native chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). The white plumage, with a few partially pigmented feathers, was not associated with the tyrosinase gene, and displayed an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance against the pigmented phenotype. All F1 offspring derived from crosses with mottled chickens (mo/mo), which show characteristic pigmented feathers with white tips, had plumage with a mottled-like pattern. This result indicates that the white plumage mutation is a novel allele at the mo locus; we propose the gene symbol mow for this mutant allele. Furthermore, the F1 hybrid between the mow/mow chicken and the panda (s/s) mutant of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), whose causative gene is the endothelin receptor B2 (EDNRB2) gene, showed a mow/mow chicken-like plumage, suggesting the possibility that the mutations in parental species are alleles of the same gene, EDNRB2. Nucleotide sequencing of the entire coding region of EDNRB2 revealed a non-synonymous G1008T substitution, which causes Cys244Phe amino acid substitution in exon 5 (which is part of the extracellular loop between the putative fourth and fifth transmembrane domains of EDNRB2) in the mutant chicken. This Cys244Phe mutation was also present in individuals of four Japanese breeds with white plumage. We also identified a non-synonymous substitution leading to Arg332His substitution that was responsible for the mottled (mo/mo) plumage phenotype. These results suggest that the EDN3 (endothelin 3)–EDNRB2 signaling is essential for normal pigmentation in birds, and that the mutations of EDNRB2 may cause defective binding of the protein with endothelins, which interferes with melanocyte differentiation, proliferation, and migration.

The effect of tacrolimus hydrate (FK506) ointment on spontaneous dermatitis in NC/Nga (NC) mice was examined. FK506 ointment (0.1-1%) suppressed the development of dermatitis and was also therapeutically effective against established dermatitis. Increases in CD4-positive T cells (helper T cells), mast cells, eosinophils and immunostaining of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IgE were confirmed in the skin of the NC mice, and FK506 ointment suppressed all of these changes. Increased plasma IgE was also confirmed in the NC mice, and treatment with FK506 ointment reduced the plasma IgE level. These results suggested that FK506 suppressed the dermatitis by inhibiting the activation of inflammatory cells and by blocking the cytokine network in the skin of the NC mice. The commercially available steroid ointments showed only marginal effect on the development of dermatitis and showed some signs of side effects such as alopecia or atrophy of the skin. The effect of the steroids might have been masked by these side effects because the steroids showed similar inhibitory effects on the skin histopathological changes and the increase of plasma IgE. From these results, FK506 ointment can be expected to be a useful drug for atopic dermatitis.

No abstract

We performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to map QTLs controlling shank length, body weight, and carcass weight in a resource family of 245 F₂ birds developed from a cross of the large-sized, native, Japanese cockfighting breed, Oh-Shamo (Japanese Large Game), and the White Leghorn breed of chickens. Interval mapping revealed three significant QTLs for shank length on chromosomes 1, 4 and 24 at the experiment-wise 5% level, and a suggestive shank length QTL on chromosome 27 at the experiment-wise 10% level. For body weight two QTLs, one significant and the other suggestive, were identified on chromosomes 4 and 24, respectively. As expected, QTLs for carcass weight, which was highly correlated with body weight (r = 0.95), were detected at the same chromosomal locations as the detected body weight QTLs. Interestingly, the chromosomal locations containing these body weight and carcass weight QTLs coincided with those of two of the four shank length QTLs detected. No QTL with an epistatic interaction effect was discovered for any trait. The total contribution of all detected QTLs to genetic variance was 98.4%, 27.0% and 25.9% for shank length, body weight and carcass weight, respectively, indicating that most shank length QTLs have been identified but many body weight and carcass weight QTLs have been overlooked by the present analysis because of a low coverage rate of the 88 microsatellite markers used here (approximately 46% of the whole genome).

The present study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships of 9 native Japanese long-tailed chicken breeds (Shoukoku, Koeyoshi, Kurokashiwa, Minohiki, Ohiki, Onagadori, Satsumadori, Toumaru, and Toutenkou) together with 2 commercial breeds (White Leghorn and White Plymouth Rock), using 40 polymorphic microsatellite markers covering 23 linkage groups. The 8 breeds mentioned, except for Shoukoku and 2 commercial breeds, were believed to be descendants derived from crossings of the ancestor of Shoukoku and some other breeds. Three to 14 alleles per locus were detected across all the breeds. The mean number of alleles per locus, the mean unbiased expected heterozygosity, and the mean polymorphic information content ranged from 2.60 (Minohiki) to 4.07 (Shoukoku), from 0.293 (Koeyoshi) to 0.545 (Satsumadori), and from 0.250 (Koeyoshi) to 0.478 (Satsumadori), respectively. The mean fixation coefficient of subpopulation within the total population of 9 Japanese long-tailed breeds showed that approximately 38% of the genetic variation was caused by breed differences and 62% was due to differences among individuals. Toumaru had the largest number of breed-specific alleles with relatively high (>20%) frequency. In the phylogenetic tree of 11 breeds constructed by the neighbor-joining method from modified Cavalli-Sforza chord genetic distance measure, White Leghorn and White Plymouth Rock clustered together apart from the Japanese breeds. Among the Japanese long-tailed breeds, Toumaru, Kurokashiwa, and Koeyoshi showed relatively far distance from the other breeds. The Ohiki, Onagadori, Shoukoku, and Toutenkou were grouped into the same branch. Minohiki and Satsumadori were also clustered together. Kurokashiwa was not genetically close to Shoukoku, differing from a traditional hypothsis. It was confirmed in the present study that the microsatellite is a suitable tool to evaluate genetic diversity and relationships in chicken breeds.

The aims of the current study were to assess genetic diversity, conduct genetic characterization, and evaluate usefulness of an individual assignment test for 12 commercial chicken lines using 40 microsatellite markers. A total of 268 distinct alleles were observed across the 12 lines, and 42 of the 268 alleles (15.7%) were unique to only 1 line. Mean observed heterozygosity within a line ranged from 0.295 to 0.664, and the highest value was obtained from 1 of the White Plymouth Rock lines. Significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed at several locus-line combinations, showing excess of heterozygotes in many cases. As a whole, genetic differences among the lines estimated by the fixation index were high at 29.8%, whereas higher genetic similarity was observed among White Leghorn lines despite their different breeding histories. Assignment test could correctly allocate individuals at the line level to their origins, with a high accuracy (96.6%). Individual-based genetic characterization would be a usable step to conserve chicken genetic resources. Here, guidelines for future breeding and management of these lines by the poultry industry are provided.