Detection of SNPs in the Cathepsin D Gene and Their Association with Yolk Traits in Chickens

Abstract

CTSD (Cathepsin D) is a key enzyme in yolk formation, and it primarily affects egg yolk weight and egg weight. However, recent research has mostly focused on the genomic structure of the CTSD gene and the enzyme’s role in pathology, and less is known about the enzyme’s functions in chickens. In this paper, the correlations between CTSD polymorphisms and egg quality traits were analyzed in local Shandong chicken breeds. CTSD polymorphisms were investigated by PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism) and sequencing analysis. Two variants were found to be associated with egg quality traits. One variant (2614T>C), located in exon 3, was novel. Another variant (5274G>T), located in intron 4, was previously referred to as rs16469410. Overall, our results indicated that CTSD would be a useful candidate gene in selection programs for improving yolk traits.

Expression profile of six stress-related genes and productive performances of fast and slow growing broiler strains reared under heat stress conditions

“…Different authors have carried out studies in poultry utilizing molecular markers (including SNPs) ( Sheng et al, 2013; Hoque et al, 2013 ). Currently, the search for SNP markers represents one of the favourite genotyping approaches because they are very abundant in the genome and amenable to high-throughput analysis ( Yang et al, 2013 ).…”

Polymorphisms in GJA1 and their association with growth traits in chicken

“…However, the exact functions of SNPs in non-coding regulatory regions are not clear, but are predicted to influence the binding affinity of transcription factors (Kim et al, 2008). Therefore, we hypothesize that the variants identified from our study could disrupt some transcription factor-binding sites (Sheng et al, 2013) that alter GJA1 gene expression and affect muscle development in chicken, although further investigations are required.…”

Molecular breeding techniques to improve egg quality

“…Albumen quality determines foaming and whipping p roperties and thus the usefulness of an egg for industrial processing (Silversides and Budgell, 2004). Albumen quality is known to deteriorate with both age of the hen and storage time of the egg (Monira et al, 2003) and also with increasing storage temperature.…”