Comparative analysis of liver transcriptome reveals adaptive responses to hypoxia environmental condition in Tibetan chicken

Objective Tibetan chickens, which have unique adaptations to extreme high-altitude environments, exhibit phenotypic and physiological characteristics that are distinct from those of lowland chickens. However, the mechanisms underlying hypoxic adaptation in the liver of chickens remain unknown. Methods RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology was used to assess the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in hypoxia adaptation in highland chickens (native Tibetan chicken [HT]) and lowland chickens (Langshan chicken [LS], Beijing You chicken [BJ], Qingyuan Partridge chicken [QY], and Chahua chicken [CH]). Results A total of 352 co-DEGs were specifically screened between HT and four native lowland chicken breeds. Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes enrichment analyses indicated that these co-DEGs were widely involved in lipid metabolism processes, such as the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) signaling pathway, fatty acid degradation, fatty acid metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis. To further determine the relationship from the 352 co-DEGs, protein-protein interaction network was carried out and identified eight genes (ACSL1, CPT1A, ACOX1, PPARC1A, SCD, ACSBG2, ACACA, and FASN) as the potential regulating genes that are responsible for the altitude difference between the HT and other four lowland chicken breeds. Conclusion This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating hypoxia adaptation via lipid metabolism in Tibetan chickens and other highland animals

Hematology, Biochemistry and Serum Protein Analyses of Antarctic and non-Antarctic Skuas

Determination of hematological and biochemical parameters provides important data to assess the physiological condition in wild birds. Therefore, to carry out ecophysiology or conservation studies it is essential to establish baseline physiological parameters and how these change with age and life history events. Hematological (hematocrit, hemoglobin and erythrocyte sedimentation) and biochemical (glucose, total lipids and proteins, aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities and electrolyte concentration) reference values were determined in two Antarctic migratory bird species, the Brown Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus) and South Polar Skua (S. maccormicki), from South Shetland Island during breeding season. Also, hematological data (hematocrit) were determined for non-Antarctic skuas, with Chilean (S. chilensis) and Falkland (S. antarcticus antarcticus) skuas sampled in the Beagle Channel islands (Tierra del Fuego Province) and Viana Island (Chubut Province), Argentina, respectively. Differences between adult Antarctic skua species were observed in hemoglobin, erythrocyte sedimentation, total lipids and aspartate aminotransferase activity. In addition, age-related differences in Antarctic skuas in hematocrit, hemoglobin, glucose and total protein values were observed. Serum reference protein fractions (Albumin, α1, α2, and globulins) were assessed by electrophoresis for Antarctic and non-Antarctic skuas. Similar protein patterns were observed between South Polar and Chilean skuas as well between Falkland Skua and Brown Skua. The differences between adult sympatric Antarctic skuas may be related to their nutritional status and species-specific migrations, feeding habits and the differential use of the breeding niches, while the age variation may be related to physiological development processes in chicks or to the energy expenditure in adults during breeding.Fil: Ibañez, Andres Esteban. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados. Sección Ornitología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Najle, Roberto. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Larsen, Karen Elizabeth. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Montalti, Diego. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico Zoología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Genomic data for 78 chickens from 14 populations

Background: Since the domestication of the red jungle fowls (Gallus gallus; dating back to~10 000 B.P.) in Asia, domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been subjected to the combined effects of natural selection and human-driven artificial selection; this has resulted in marked phenotypic diversity in a number of traits, including behavior, body composition, egg production, and skin color. Population genomic variations through diversifying selection have not been fully investigated. Findings: The whole genomes of 78 domestic chickens were sequenced to an average of 18-fold coverage for each bird. By combining this data with publicly available genomes of five wild red jungle fowls and eight Xishuangbanna game fowls, we conducted a comprehensive comparative genomics analysis of 91 chickens from 17 populations. After aligning ~21.30 gigabases (Gb) of high-quality data from each individual to the reference chicken genome, we identified ~6.44 million (M) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for each population. These SNPs included 1.10 M novel SNPs in 17 populations that were absent in the current chicken dbSNP (Build 145) entries. Conclusions: The current data is important for population genetics and further studies in chickens and will serve as a valuable resource for investigating diversifying selection and candidate genes for selective breeding in chickens.Peer reviewedAnimal Scienc

Different Haematological Condition, Immune System and Comfort of Muscovy Duck and Local Duck Reared in Dry and Wet Seasons

Muscovy and local duck belong to Indonesian local waterfowl a meat and egg production purpose, whose physiological condition is strongly affected by genetic and environmental factors in which physiological condition determines duck productivity. Due to the global climate change including in Indonesia this study is important. This research aimed to study the different haematological condition, immune system and comfort of muscovy and local duck reared in dry and wet seasons. 128 muscovy and local ducks of one-day old of male and female were involved in this study with Completely Randomized Factorial Design (2x2x2). Two factors : breed of ducks (muscovy and local), sex (male and female) and season (dry and wet). The variables included the amount of erythrocyte, leukocyte, differential leukocyte, heterophile-lymphocyte ratio, hemoglobin level, hematocrit value, and total plasma protein. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance followed by Duncan test for any different treatment shown in the variables. The result showed that interaction among the duck order, sex and seasons significantly influenced the heamatological condition and welfare of the ducks. Muscovy duck and local duck reared in wet season had a higher haematological status than those of dry season. Leukocyte amount was higher in Muscovy duck than local duck, while Muscovy duck had a lower heterophile-lymphocyte ratio than that of local duck. In conclusion, haematological condition in wet season and dry season was different, the most influential immune system was heterophile and Muscovy duck and local duck were more in comfort in wet season. Keywords: muscovy duck, haematological, immune system, comfort, dry season, wet season Animal Production 14(2):111-11

Integrated environmental and genomic analysis reveals the drivers of local adaptation in African indigenous chickens

Breeding for climate resilience is currently an important goal for sustainable livestock production. Local adaptations exhibited by indigenous livestock allow investigating the genetic control of this resilience. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) provides a powerful avenue to identify the main environmental drivers of selection. Here, we applied an integrative approach combining ENM with genome-wide selection signature analyses (XPEHH and Fst) and genotype−environment association (redundancy analysis), with the aim of identifying the genomic signatures of adaptation in African village chickens. By dissecting 34 agro-climatic variables from the ecosystems of 25 Ethiopian village chicken populations, ENM identified six key drivers of environmental challenges: One temperature variable—strongly correlated with elevation, three precipitation variables as proxies for water availability, and two soil/land cover variables as proxies of food availability for foraging chickens. Genome analyses based on whole-genome sequencing (n = 245), identified a few strongly supported genomic regions under selection for environmental challenges related to altitude, temperature, water scarcity, and food availability. These regions harbor several gene clusters including regulatory genes, suggesting a predominantly oligogenic control of environmental adaptation. Few candidate genes detected in relation to heat-stress, indicates likely epigenetic regulation of thermo-tolerance for a domestic species originating from a tropical Asian wild ancestor. These results provide possible explanations for the rapid past adaptation of chickens to diverse African agro-ecologies, while also representing new landmarks for sustainable breeding improvement for climate resilience. We show that the pre-identification of key environmental drivers, followed by genomic investigation, provides a powerful new approach for elucidating adaptation in domestic animals