Researchers make progress in duck functional genome research

Recently, "Nature-Communications" published online the latest research results of Professor Hou Zhuocheng's research group from the Poultry Genetics and Breeding Team of the College of Animal Science and Technology of China Agricultural University
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Most domestic duck breeds are domesticated from primitive mallard ducks
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Compared with wild ducks, domestic breeds have extremely significant improvements in reproduction and growth performance

In order to clarify the changing laws of important traits in the domestication process and provide high-quality reference genomes for molecular breeding, in this study, the researchers assembled the chromosome-level high-quality genomes of Peking duck, Shaoxing duck and mallard ducks.

This study was the first to obtain the complete genome sequence of the C-type lectin family members that regulate eggshell biological calcification in the bird genome; using comparative genome and population sequencing data, key genetic variations in different types of duck populations during domestication were identified ; The study used a knockout model to confirm the function of NR2F2 gene to inhibit adipogenesis in ducks

The research results provide a new theoretical basis for interpreting the genetic mechanism of bird eggshell formation, and also provide a wealth of genetic variation resources for the improvement of duck traits

Related paper information: https://doi.