Genetic variations for the eggshell crystal structure revealed by genome-wide association study in chickens

BMC Genomics

Zhongyi Duan¹  Congjiao Sun²  Jiangxia Zheng²  Quanlin Li²  Guiyun Xu²  Ning Yang² 

[1]National Animal Husbandry Service

[2]National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and MOA Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University

关键词: Chicken;    Eggshell;    Crystal structure;    X-ray diffraction;    GWAS;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12864-021-08103-1

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Eggshell is a bio-ceramic material comprising columnar calcite (CaCO3) crystals and organic proteinaceous matrix. The size, shape and orientation of the CaCO3 crystals influence the microstructural properties of chicken eggshells. However, the genetic architecture underlying eggshell crystal polymorphism remains to be elucidated. Results The integral intensity of the nine major diffraction peaks, total integral intensity and degree of orientation of the crystals were measured followed by a genome-wide association study in 839 F2 hens. The results showed that the total integral intensity was positively correlated with the eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, eggshell weight, mammillary layer thickness and effective layer thickness. The SNP-based heritabilities of total integral intensity and degree of orientation were 0.23 and 0.06, respectively. The 621 SNPs located in the range from 55.6 to 69.1 Mb in GGA1 were significantly associated with TA. PLCZ1, ABCC9, ITPR2, KCNJ8, CACNA1C and IAPP, which are involved in the biological process of regulating cytosolic calcium ion concentration, can be suggested as key genes regulating the total integral intensity. Conclusions The findings greatly advance the understanding of the genetic basis underlying the crystal ultrastructure of eggshell quality and thus will have practical significance in breeding programs for improving eggshell quality.

【 授权许可】

Unknown