A gene co‐expression network analysis of the candidate genes and molecular pathways associated with feather follicle traits of chicken skin

Abstract

Back and thigh skin of chickens showed significant differences in the thickness and the feather follicle density and size, which are important traits for slaughtered chickens' appearance. In the present study, global gene expression profiling was conducted in the back and thigh skin of chickens using Microarray technology. The results showed that 676 genes were differentially expressed between back and thigh skin. The expression of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including PPP1R3C, IGF1, PTCHD1, HOXB6, FGF9, CAMK4, SHH, BMP8B, FOXN1 and PTGER2, was validated by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR), and the results were consistent with microarray results. Functional analysis revealed that the DEGs were significantly involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, adhesion and transport process, and the pathways were significantly mapped into the ECM‐receptor interaction, peroxisome, focal adhesion, Hedgehog and PPAR signalling pathways. Protein–protein interaction network analysis suggested that signalling pathways related to feathers morphogenesis and development, such as Wnt, FGF, MAPK, SHH and BMP signalling pathways, occupied important positions in the network. Genes involved in these signalling pathways and adhesion molecules might play a vital role in skin and feather follicle development. Further single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association analysis of Wnt3A showed that the AC genotype of SNP g.255361 C>A significantly increased the feather follicle density of thigh skin. Our findings may provide new insights on candidate genes and pathways related to skin and feather follicle formation of chickens.

Effects of Estradiol on Expression of Estrogen Receptor and Collagen mRNAs in Chick Skin

“…The thickness of skin differs among regions of the body between male and female chickens. The skin is thicker in the back than in the thigh of all chickens (Salim et al, 2012;Ji et al, 2021), and in male, compared with female chickens (Salim et al, 2012).…”

Genome Assembly and Evolutionary Analysis of the Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata Reveal Strong Genome Conservation among Ducks

“…The WNT signaling is involved in multiple critical roles on feather morphogenesis (Mandarin_01257700 and Mandarin_01030300) ( Widelitz 2008 ). Expressions of Eph receptors and ephrins are found in chicken feather morphogenesis (Mandarin_01261900 and Mandarin_00927000) ( Ji et al 2021 ) and they are involved in boundary stabilization during feather morphogenesis ( Suksaweang et al 2012 ). Although several other genes involved in mammary gland duct morphogenesis have no known functions in feather development, they play essential roles of mammary gland development and could be important for developing the extravagant ornate plumage of mandarin duck.…”

Transcriptional Characteristics Showed That miR-144-y/FOXO3 Participates in Embryonic Skin and Feather Follicle Development in Zhedong White Goose

“…Recently, using high-throughput technologies, several studies have focused on the molecular and regulatory mechanisms involved in skin and feather/hair follicle development [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 17 , 19 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. In the present study, we performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) to discover the intricate molecular processes that underlie the growth of skin and feather follicles in the Zhedong white goose as well as any potential new regulatory factors that might be involved and the transcript profiles were identified at five different development stages (E10, E13, E18, E23, and E28).…”

“…With the progressive understanding of the developmental process of feather follicles, more and more new key regulatory factors are being uncovered in addition to the signals mentioned above. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become a powerful tool to uncover the molecular signaling involved in the formation of feather follicles for feather maturation [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. While the feather follicles of chickens and ducks are increasingly well studied, geese, as poultry with extremely high down feather quality, have been relatively seldomly studied.…”