Quantitative real-time PCR primer design, cDNA amplification and sequence analysis from 22 genes mainly associated with lipid metabolism in Pekin (Anas platyrhynchos) and Muscovy (Cairina moschata) ducks

Few genomic tools are available in ducks. To produce some new resources, we have designed Pekin (Anas platyrhynchos) and Muscovy (Cairina moschata) duck-specific primers for 22 genes involved mainly in lipid metabolism, and to a lesser extent in carbohydrate metabolism and other functions. Primers were designed according to duck sequences when available and otherwise from the corresponding conserved regions in chicken and human sequences. These primers allowed quantitative RT-PCR amplification of RNA from Pekin and Muscovy ducks. Amplified cDNA products from both species were sequenced and were found to be very similar to chicken sequences (about 94%). This work provides additional genomic resources and polymorphism information for some genes in duck species and represents a first step towards gene expression analyses in Pekin and Muscovy ducks.