Detection of a Cis [corrected] eQTL controlling BCMO1 gene expression leads to the identification of a QTG for chicken breast meat color

Classical quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and gene expression QTL (eQTL) were combined to identify the causal gene (or QTG) underlying a highly significant QTL controlling the variation of breast meat color in a F2 cross between divergent high-growth (HG) and low-growth (LG) chicken lines. Within this meat quality QTL, BCMO1 (Accession number GenBank: AJ271386), encoding the β-carotene 15, 15'-monooxygenase, a key enzyme in the conversion of β-carotene into colorless retinal, was a good functional candidate. Analysis of the abundance of BCMO1 mRNA in breast muscle of the HG x LG F2 population allowed for the identification of a strong cis eQTL. Moreover, reevaluation of the color QTL taking BCMO1 mRNA levels as a covariate indicated that BCMO1 mRNA levels entirely explained the variations in meat color. Two fully-linked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) located within the proximal promoter of BCMO1 gene were identified. Haplotype substitution resulted in a marked difference in BCMO1 promoter activity in vitro. The association study in the F2 population revealed a three-fold difference in BCMO1 expression leading to a difference of 1 standard deviation in yellow color between the homozygous birds at this haplotype. This difference in meat yellow color was fully consistent with the difference in carotenoid content (i.e. lutein and zeaxanthin) evidenced between the two alternative haplotypes. A significant association between the haplotype, the level of BCMO1 expression and the yellow color of the meat was also recovered in an unrelated commercial broiler population. The mutation could be of economic importance for poultry production by making possible a gene-assisted selection for color, a determining aspect of meat quality. Moreover, this natural genetic diversity constitutes a new model for the study of β-carotene metabolism which may act upon diverse biological processes as precursor of the vitamin A.     

鸡neurexophilin 1基因在毕赤酵母中的表达

Neurexophilin 1是母鸡子宫阴道结合部位的差异表达基因。根据鸡nxph1的序列,结合毕赤酵母密码子的偏好性,合成nxph1基因,设计引物以合成基因为模板,扩增其去除信号肽的DNA序列△nxph1,将合成的nxph1基因及去除信号肽的nxph1基因片段△nxph1分别插入pPICZαA真核表达载体,构建重组表达质粒pPICZαA/nxph1和去除信号肽的重组表达质粒pPICZαA/△nxph1,电转入毕赤酵母GS115,阳性菌用终浓度为1%的甲醇诱导表达,SDS-PAGE电泳和Western blot检测表达产物,结果表明重组菌成功分泌鸡NXPH1蛋白和去除信号的△NXPH1蛋白,大小约29 kD,为探索NXPH1在母鸡生殖道内的功能奠定基础。     

The Effect of Cultural Procedures on the Attachment of Bacteria to Chicken Breast Meat

Various bacterial strains were cultured in a laboratory medium, on chicken breast meat or derived from faeces of orally infected chicks. Suspensions of these bacterial cultures were brought in contact with chicken breast meat. The way in which the bacteria were cultured had little influence on the number of bacteria which attached to the chicken breast meat surface or on as the strength of attachment ( i.e. the easiness of removal of attached bacteria). Only bacteria from the faeces of freshly infected chicks (24 h after inoculation) attached in higher numbers (more than one log₁₀ unit) and these were less easy to remove.     

Identifying the Genetic Variation of Gene Expression Using Gene Sets: Application of Novel Gene Set eQTL Approach to PharmGKB and KEGG

Genetic variation underlying the regulation of mRNA gene expression in humans may provide key insights into the molecular mechanisms of human traits and complex diseases. Current statistical methods to map genetic variation associated with mRNA gene expression have typically applied standard linkage and/or association methods; however, when genome-wide SNP and mRNA expression data are available performing all pair wise comparisons is computationally burdensome and may not provide optimal power to detect associations. Consideration of different approaches to account for the high dimensionality and multiple testing issues may provide increased efficiency and statistical power. Here we present a novel approach to model and test the association between genetic variation and mRNA gene expression levels in the context of gene sets (GSs) and pathways, referred to as gene set - expression quantitative trait loci analysis (GS-eQTL). The method uses GSs to initially group SNPs and mRNA expression, followed by the application of principal components analysis (PCA) to collapse the variation and reduce the dimensionality within the GSs. We applied GS-eQTL to assess the association between SNP and mRNA expression level data collected from a cell-based model system using PharmGKB and KEGG defined GSs. We observed a large number of significant GS-eQTL associations, in which the most significant associations arose between genetic variation and mRNA expression from the same GS. However, a number of associations involving genetic variation and mRNA expression from different GSs were also identified. Our proposed GS-eQTL method effectively addresses the multiple testing limitations in eQTL studies and provides biological context for SNP-expression associations.     

Signature-Tagged Mutagenesis in a Chicken Infection Model Leads to the Identification of a Novel Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Fimbrial Adhesin

The extraintestinal pathogen, avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), known to cause systemic infections in chickens, is responsible for large economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide. In order to identify genes involved in the early essential stages of pathogenesis, namely adhesion and colonization, Signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) was applied to a previously established lung colonization model of infection by generating and screening a total of 1,800 mutants of an APEC strain IMT5155 (O2:K1:H5; Sequence type complex 95). The study led to the identification of new genes of interest, including two adhesins, one of which coded for a novel APEC fimbrial adhesin (Yqi) not described for its role in APEC pathogenesis to date. Its gene product has been temporarily designated ExPEC Adhesin I (EA/I) until the adhesin-specific receptor is identified. Deletion of the ExPEC adhesin I gene resulted in reduced colonization ability by APEC strain IMT5155 both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, complementation of the adhesin gene restored its ability to colonize epithelial cells in vitro. The ExPEC adhesin I protein was successfully expressed in vitro. Electron microscopy of an afimbriate strain E. coli AAEC189 over-expressed with the putative EA/I gene cluster revealed short fimbrial-like appendages protruding out of the bacterial outer membrane. We observed that this adhesin coding gene yqi is prevalent among extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) isolates, including APEC (54.4%), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) (65.9%) and newborn meningitic E. coli (NMEC) (60.0%), and absent in all of the 153 intestinal pathogenic E. coli strains tested, thereby validating the designation of the adhesin as ExPEC Adhesin I. In addition, prevalence of EA/I was most frequently associated with the B2 group of the EcoR classification and ST95 complex of the multi locus sequence typing (MLST) scheme, with evidence of a positive selection within this highly pathogenic complex. This is the first report of the newly identified and functionally characterized ExPEC adhesin I and its significant role during APEC infection in chickens.     

UHRF1基因在乳腺癌循环肿瘤细胞中的表达研究

外周血液中乳腺循环癌肿瘤细胞的生物表征与转移性乳腺癌的严重程度密切相关,本研究的目的在于结合体外细胞实验探讨UHRF1基因对乳腺癌进展的意义。多重RNA原位分析乳腺癌循环肿瘤细胞(circulating tumor cells,CTCs)中UHRF1的表达;MTT法检测UHRF1基因转染对正常乳腺细胞增殖的影响;蛋白免疫印迹检测UHRF1基因转染对正常乳腺细胞中Bax蛋白和Bcl-2蛋白的影响;Caspase-3检测试剂盒检测正常乳腺细胞中Caspase-3活性;Transwell侵袭实验和划痕愈合实验检测UHRF1基因转染对正常乳腺细胞侵袭和迁移能力的影响。研究发现,UHRF1 RNA水平在乳腺癌循环肿瘤细胞中高表达;UHRF1基因增加正常乳腺细胞增殖率;UHRF1基因降低正常乳腺细胞中Caspase-3活性;UHRF1基因降低正常乳腺细胞中Bax蛋白的表达,增加Bcl-2蛋白的表达;UHRF1基因增强正常乳腺细胞侵袭和迁移能力。本研究初步说明,UHRF1可促进正常乳腺细胞增殖,抑制正常乳腺细胞凋亡,增强正常乳腺细胞侵袭和迁移能力。     

活性型粒酶B基因的异位表达导致多核巨细胞产生

粒酶B（granzyme B, GrB）是一种重要的丝氨酸蛋白酶参与细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(CTL)和自然杀伤细胞(NK)介导的细胞杀伤过程.为研究粒酶B在肿瘤细胞中异位表达后能否诱导细胞死亡,将构建的活性型粒酶B（GrBa）基因及其酶活性中心突变型（mGrBa）基因的真核表达载体,以脂质体法瞬时转染HeLa细胞,通过绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)共表达、间接免疫荧光、细胞计数、MTT等方法,观察到GrBa蛋白的异位表达引起多核巨细胞形态异常,并且表达细胞的生长受到抑制.Percoll分离多核巨细胞后,观察到其生长状态较差,是导致生长抑制的直接原因.细胞骨架破坏和具有多极纺锤体的异常有丝分裂,推测是多核巨细胞不断产生的根源.上述结果为GrBa应用于肿瘤基因治疗提供了一定依据.     

Options for the Production of Selenized Chicken Meat

A 42-day experiment was conducted to compare the effects of various levels of sodium selenite (SS) and Se-enriched yeast (SY) on chicken productivity, carcass traits, and breast Se concentration. Six hundred 1-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were placed on 1 of 6 experimental treatments. The treatments consisted of feeding a diet without Se supplementation (basal diet) or basal diet with 0.6 mg/kg supplemented Se supplied by SS, SY, or a mix of the two (0.45 SS + 0.15 SY; 0.3 SS + 0.3 SY; 0.15 SS + 0.45 SY). Chicks in all Se-supplemented treatments had significantly higher final body weight and eviscerated weight than those on the basal diet (P < 0,05) and no significant differences were observed among selenium source (P < 0.05). Also, chicks in all Se-supplemented treatments had significantly higher Se contents in breast tissue than the control group (P < 0.05). Replacing SS by SY in the broiler diets resulted in increased concentrations of Se in the breast (P < 0.01). Strong correlations were found between breast Se concentrations and the level of SY supplementation of the broiler diet (r = 0.992). The results from this experiment indicate that SY is a superior source of selenium for the production of selenized meat, and can be used, without any detrimental effect on chicken performance, for adding nutritional value to broiler meat and thus safely improving human selenium intake.     

纯种与杂种鸡之间肝脏组织基因差异表达及其与肉用性状杂种优势的关系

以白洛克肉鸡 (EE)、中国丝羽乌骨鸡 (CC)、农大褐 (DD)和白来航 (AA) 4个纯种鸡为材料 ,进行 4× 4完全双列杂交 ,共得到 16种杂交组合。应用mRNA差异显示技术 (DDRT PCR)检测了 8周龄纯种和杂种鸡之间肝脏组织基因的差异表达。结果表明 ,在纯种和杂种间共有 8种 15类基因差异表达模式 ,杂种和纯种之间基因表达存在明显的差异。对各种基因差异表达模式与 10个肉用性状的杂种优势率进行相关分析发现 ,表达一致型P8(t1111)与肉用性状的杂种优势率相关不显著 (P >0 0 5) ,这说明杂种优势的形成与某些基因的差异表达有关 ;正交或反交特异表达型P4(t0 10 0、t0 0 10 )与 8周龄个体重、腿肌重、半净膛重、全净膛重相关显著 (P <0 0 5) ,与胸肌重相关极显著 (P <0 0 1) ;单亲特异表达型P1(t10 0 0、t0 0 0 1)与腹脂重相关显著 (P <0 0 5) ,与体斜长相关极显著 (P <0 0 1) ;双亲特异表达型P7(t10 0 1)与腿肌重、翅重、半净膛重、肌间脂宽的杂种优势率相关显著 (P <0 0 5) ;正交或反交单亲表达一致型P2 (t110 0、t0 0 11、t10 10、t0 10 1)与肌间脂宽的杂种优势率相关显著 (P <0 0 5) ;单亲表达一致型P5(t1110、t0 111)胫骨长的杂种优势率相关显著 (P <0 0 5)。     

Ectopic Expression of Plk1 Leads to Activation of the Spindle Checkpoint

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), the best characterized member of the mammalian polo-like kinase family, is well regulated throughout the cell cycle, and is inhibited following DNA damage. Chk1 plays a key role in the response to DNA damage. We recently reported that Chk1 is required for mitotic progression through negative regulation of Plk1. Here, we report the phenotypes of cultured cells upon ectopic expression of various forms of Plk1. Epitopic expression of Plk1 led to mitotic arrest, whereas co-expression of Chk1 could release this mitotic block. Moreover, the Plk1 expression-induced mitotic block was also released by inactivation of the spindle-assembly checkpoint.     

Expression of Human NSAID Activated Gene 1 in Mice Leads to Altered Mammary Gland Differentiation and Impaired Lactation

Transgenic mice expressing human non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug activated gene 1 (NAG-1) have less adipose tissue, improved insulin sensitivity, lower insulin levels and are resistant to dietary induced obesity. The hNAG-1 expressing mice are more metabolically active with a higher energy expenditure. This study investigates female reproduction in the hNAG-1 transgenic mice and finds the female mice are fertile but have reduced pup survival after birth. Examination of the mammary glands in these mice suggests that hNAG-1 expressing mice have altered mammary epithelial development during pregnancy, including reduced occupancy of the fat pad and increased apoptosis via TUNEL positive cells on lactation day 2. Pups nursing from hNAG-1 expressing dams have reduced milk spots compared to pups nursing from WT dams. When CD-1 pups were cross-fostered with hNAG-1 or WT dams; reduced milk volume was observed in pups nursing from hNAG-1 dams compared to pups nursing from WT dams in a lactation challenge study. Milk was isolated from WT and hNAG-1 dams, and the milk was found to have secreted NAG-1 protein (approximately 25 ng/mL) from hNAG-1 dams. The WT dams had no detectable hNAG-1 in the milk. A decrease in non-esterified free fatty acids in the milk of hNAG-1 dams was observed. Altered milk composition suggests that the pups were receiving inadequate nutrients during perinatal development. To examine this hypothesis serum was isolated from pups and clinical chemistry points were measured. Male and female pups nursing from hNAG-1 dams had reduced serum triglyceride concentrations. Microarray analysis revealed that genes involved in lipid metabolism are differentially expressed in hNAG-1 mammary glands. Furthermore, the expression of Cidea/CIDEA that has been shown to regulate milk lipid secretion in the mammary gland was reduced in hNAG-1 mammary glands. This study suggests that expression of hNAG-1 in mice leads to impaired lactation and reduces pup survival due to altered milk quality and quantity.     

Na+/H+ Exchanger 1 Gene Expression in Tissues of Yellow Chicken

The Na(+)/H(+) exchanger 1 (NHE1) transmembrane protein regulates intracellular pH, cell survival, cell growth, cell differentiation and plays a critical role in the progression of some diseases, including the pathogenesis of J avian leukosis. The chicken is an ideal model to study the function of NHE1 because it has developed highly efficient Na(+)-absorptive mechanisms in its small and large intestines. To date, there has been no detailed expression analysis to determine NHE1 expression in various tissues of the chicken. We determined the mRNA and protein expression levels of avian NHE1 by real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical analysis. NHE1 mRNA was detected in all chicken tissues examined. Protein expression levels varied widely among tissues and did not always correlate with mRNA expression. Determining the mRNA and protein of NHE1 expression patterns in chicken should help to delineate the NHE1 role in different tissues and its contribution to physiological and pathological processes. These data provide the basis for examining the distinct function of chicken NHE1 compared with its mammalian counterpart.     

橘色双冠丽鱼体色相关基因mc1r的组织表达分析

黑素皮质素受体1基因(mc1r)是动物体色形成的关键调控因子,为探讨mc1r基因在橘色双冠丽鱼(Amphilophus citrinellus)体色褪黑过程中的调控作用,本研究利用cDNA末端快速克隆(RACE)技术首次获得橘色双冠丽鱼mc1r的cDNA全序列,并利用荧光定量PCR分析了橘色双冠丽鱼体色变化不同时期和不同组织中mc1r基因的表达差异。获得cDNA全长序列1 699 bp,共编码氨基酸325个,开放阅读框(ORF)为978 bp,5′非编码区(UTR)497 bp,3′非编码区(UTR)224 bp。氨基酸序列和系统发育分析表明,橘色双冠丽鱼与人(Homo sapiens)、斑马鱼(Danion rerio)、大黄鱼(Larimichthys crocea)和尼罗罗非鱼(Oreochromis niloticus)相似度分别为55.1%、77.1%、90.15%和96.92%。荧光定量PCR结果表明,mc1r在橘色双冠丽鱼胚胎发育9个时期均有不同程度的表达,且随着胚胎发育表达量逐渐减少,推测在胚胎发育的早期阶段该基因的基础表达水平即可启动参与体色细胞形成的腺苷酸循环。在"黑色-灰白色-黄色"三个体色蜕变期,mc1r在尾鳍、鳞片、皮肤的表达均呈先降低再稍升高的变化趋势,均在灰白色过渡期呈现最低值,推测这与mc1r和Agouti存在竞争性结合,及mc1r、tyr、tyr1三者是否处于适当、平衡状态有关。橘色双冠丽鱼长至近成鱼期,非正常褪黑鱼(即未完全褪黑)各组织mc1r表达量均比正常褪黑鱼(完全褪黑)高,其中皮肤组织的相对表达量显著高于正常褪黑鱼(P 0.05),可见鱼体体表褪黑程度与mc1r表达量呈负相关。在成熟鱼体11个组织中mc1r均有不同程度的表达,其中,鳞片显著高于其他组织(P 0.05),说明橘色双冠丽鱼mc1r的主要表达部位是鳞片。本研究通过了解体色变异相关基因表达特征,为鱼类体色遗传和体色改良研究积累资料。     

Cloning and Tissue Expression Characterization of the Chicken APOB Gene

Apolipoprotein B (APOB) serves an essential role in the assembly and secretion of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and lipids transport. This study was designed to clone the full-length cDNA of the chicken APOB gene, to characterize the expression profile, and investigate the differential expression between layer and broiler of the chicken APOB gene. The full-length cDNA sequence (14,150-bp) that contained a 13,896-bp ORF encoding 4,631 amino acids was obtained by RT-PCR, RACE, and bioinformatics analysis. qReal-Time PCR analysis showed that the chicken APOB gene was highly expressed in kidney, liver, and intestine. The results of differential expression showed that the APOB gene was more highly expressed in intestine and kidney in Bai'er layer than in broiler, but there was no significant difference in liver between the two breeds. The results of this study provided basic molecular information for studying the role of APOB in the energy transportation in avian species.