Comparing growth, immune and pigmentation related gene expression in three lines of Japanese and wild European quail

© 2017, Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. This study was conducted to identify the differences and similarities among three Japanese quail (JQ) lines (JQ lines: white, brown and wild-black) and the European quail (EQ). The qRT-PCR was used to determine the expression of growth related genes: growth hormone (GH) and Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), immune genes (Interleukins 1β, IL-1β, Interferon-α, IFN-α), pigmentation genes; dopachrome tautomerase, (Dct) and endothelin receptor type B2, (EdnrB2) in several quail tissues, while PCR-RFLP analysis of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene was conducted in quail meat. Expression levels of the pigmentation related genes (Dct and EdnrB2) were significantly higher (P\u3c0.05) in the JQBr and EQ lines than in JQwh and they were comparable between JQbr and wild EQ. Expression levels of the growth related genes (GH and IGF-1) were significantly higher in 3 JQ lines than in EQ. No differences between all 4 quail lines were found in the expression of the immune related genes. In conclusion, the PCR-RFLP method may be used to distinguish between the Japanese and the European quail, which is important for breeding programs, labeling meat products and biodiversity studies