Genome-wide association study of aggressive behaviour in chicken

Li, Zhenhui; Zheng, Ming; Abdalla, Bahareldin Ali; Zhang, Zhe; Xu, Zuowei; Qiao, Ye; Xu, Haiping; Luo, Wei; Nie, Qinghua; Zhang, Xiquan

doi:10.1038/srep30981

Cited by 32 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Biscarini et al [ 6 ] investigated the genetic architecture of direct and indirect genetic effects of plumage condition in laying hens and found a SNP in the HTR2C gene, which is involved in the serotonergic system, that was associated with indirect genetic effects. Another study on aggression in chickens revealed a role of the dopaminergic system [ 29 ]. Moreover, Bolhuis et al [ 30 ] investigated the effects of group selection on survival on serotonin levels and suggested that the level of serotonin may be linked to the development of cannibalism.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The genetic architecture of socially-affected traits: a GWAS for direct and indirect genetic effects on survival time in laying hens showing cannibalism

et al. 2018

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BackgroundCannibalism is an important welfare problem in the layer industry. Cannibalism is a social behavior where individual survival is affected by direct genetic effects (DGE) and indirect genetic effects (IGE). Previous studies analysed repeated binomial survival, instead of survival time, which improved accuracies of breeding value predictions. Our study aimed at identifying SNPs associated with DGE and IGE for survival time, and comparing results from models that analyse survival time and repeated binomial survival.MethodsSurvival data of three layer crosses (W1 * WA, W1 * WB, and W1 * WC) were used. Each individual had one survival time record and 13 monthly survival (0/1) records. Approximately 30,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were included in the genome-wide association study (GWAS), using a linear mixed model for survival time, a linear mixed model and a generalized linear mixed model for repeated binomial survival (0/1). Backwards elimination was used to determine phenotypic and genetic variance explained by SNPs.ResultsThe same quantitative trait loci were identified with all models. A SNP associated with DGE was found in cross W1 * WA, with an allele substitution effect of 22 days. This SNP explained 3% of the phenotypic variance, and 36% of the total genetic variance. Four SNPs associated with DGE were found in cross W1 * WB, with effects ranging from 16 to 35 days. These SNPs explained 1 to 6% of the phenotypic variance and 9 to 44% of the total genetic variance. Our results suggest a link of DGE and IGE for survival time in layers with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system, since a SNP located near a gene for a GABA receptor was associated with DGE and with IGE (not significant).ConclusionsThis is one of the first large studies investigating the genetic architecture of a socially-affected trait. The power to detect SNP associations was relatively low and thus we expect that many effects on DGE and IGE remained undetected. Yet, GWAS results revealed SNPs with large DGE and a link of DGE and IGE for survival time in layers with the GABAergic system, which supports existing evidence for the involvement of GABA in the development of abnormal behaviors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12711-018-0409-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The genetic architecture of socially-affected traits: a GWAS for direct and indirect genetic effects on survival time in laying hens showing cannibalism

et al. 2018

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“…In Japanese breeds, information on innate fear is limited to the above two reports on Nagoya and Tosa-Jidori. Although aggressive behavior, leading to a large animal welfare issue, has been reported in commercial male broilers ( Millman et al , 2000 ; Li et al , 2016 ), little is known about fear-related behavior in meat-type breeds, such as White Plymouth Rock, which has been used worldwide as a parental breed of commercial broilers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tonic Immobility and Open Field Responses in Nagoya, White Leghorn, and White Plymouth Rock Chicks

Sakaguchi

Ishikawa

2020

J. Poult. Sci.

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Innate fear responses to tonic immobility (TI) and open field (OF) were evaluated in newly hatched chicks of three breeds with distinct breed origin and genetic relationships. The breeds studied were Nagoya (NAG), a native Japanese breed; White Leghorn (WL), a representative of layers; and White Plymouth Rock (WPR), a parental breed of common broilers. The TI test revealed that WL was the most sensitive to extensive fear evoked by the TI test among the three breeds, followed in order by WPR, and NAG. In contrast, the OF test revealed that NAG was the most sensitive to mild fear evoked by the OF test, followed in order by WPR, and WL. The different fear responses between NAG and WL were supported by minimal phenotypic correlations between TI and OF traits in each breed. These results demonstrated that NAG and WL breeds exhibit extreme and opposite responses to TI and OF fears.

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“…On the basis of the typical brain monoamine levels, we propose that aggressiveness may be related to the ADR genes based on the observed relative differences in brain NE level. Aggressiveness is determined by several genes and neurotransmitters [70][71][72][73][74][75][76] . Identification of these factors may help elucidate their modes of action.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the source of aggressiveness in gamecocks

Komiyama

Yoshikawa

Yokoyama

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Although the fighting behaviour in gamecocks has evolved because of artificial selection, it is unknown whether the selection for aggressiveness affects neurotransmitter levels in the avian central nervous system. We sought to identify the source and origin of this trait. We collected the brain samples from 6 female Shamo gamecocks and 5 Shaver Brown chickens (control; bred for egg production). The midbrain levels of norepinephrine (NE) were significantly higher in Shamo gamecocks (P = 0.0087) than in the controls. Moreover, alleles encoding adrenergic receptors differed between the breeds in terms of response to NE. Gene mutations specific to Shamo and potentially associated with fighting behaviour were in sites T440N of ADRα1D; V296I of ADRα2A; and T44I, Q232R, and T277M of ADRβ2. The evolutionary analysis indicated that the ADRβ2 (T44I and Q232R) mutations were heritable in all Galliformes, whereas the T440N mutation of ADRα1D and V296I mutations of ADRα2A were unique to Shamo and originated by artificial selection. A high NE level may confer a selective advantage by enabling gamecocks to be aggressive and pain tolerant. Therefore, the strong fighting behaviour of Shamo has resulted from a combination of naturally inherited and mutant genes derived by artificial selection.

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Genome-wide association study of aggressive behaviour in chicken

Cited by 32 publications

References 48 publications

The genetic architecture of socially-affected traits: a GWAS for direct and indirect genetic effects on survival time in laying hens showing cannibalism

The genetic architecture of socially-affected traits: a GWAS for direct and indirect genetic effects on survival time in laying hens showing cannibalism

Tonic Immobility and Open Field Responses in Nagoya, White Leghorn, and White Plymouth Rock Chicks

Analysis of the source of aggressiveness in gamecocks

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