Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Research article2011Peer reviewed

Differentially expressed genes in hypothalamus in relation to genomic regions under selection in two chicken lines resulting from divergent selection for high or low body weight

Ka, Sojeong; Albert, Frank W.; Denbow, D. Michael; Svante, Pääbo; Siegel, Paul B.; Andersson, Leif; Finn, Hallböök

Abstract

Long-term divergent selection for low or high body weight from the same founder population has generated two extremely divergent lines of chickens, the high- (HWS) and low-weight (LWS) selected lines. At selection age (56 days), the lines differ by more than nine times in body weight. The HWS line chickens are compulsive feeders, whereas in the LWS line, some individuals are anorexic and others have very low appetite. Previous studies have implicated the central nervous system and particularly the hypothalamus in these behavioural differences. Here, we compared the mRNA expression in hypothalamus tissue from chickens on day 4 post-hatch using oligonucleotide arrays and found that the divergent selection had resulted in minor but multiple expression differences. Differentially expressed genes were enriched in processes 'DNA metabolism, repair, induction of apoptosis and metabolism'. Several differentially expressed genes participate in the regulation of neuronal plasticity and development, including apoptosis, or are neurotransmittor receptor subtypes. Less change was seen when comparing hypothalamic neuropeptide mediators of appetite such as the melanocortin receptors. The genomic locations of these differentially expressed genes were then compared to the locations of growth QTLs and to a genome-wide map of chromosomal regions that have been under divergent selection between the lines. The results indicate which differentially expressed hypothalamic genes have responded to the divergent selection and that the results predict that it is more likely to find causative genes among these most differentially expressed genes. Because of such differential gene expression in hypothalamus, the lines may adapt behaviourally different particularly to the post-hatch situation when independent feeding to obtain energy is established.

Keywords

Anorexia; Body weight; Chicken; Divergent selection; Feeding behaviour; Gene expression; Hypothalamus

Published in

neurogenetics
2011, Volume: 12, number: 3, pages: 211-221 Publisher: SPRINGER

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Neurology
    Neurosciences
    Genetics

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10048-011-0290-9

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/46491