Footprints of Parallel Selection Revealed by Direct Sequencing in Egg Laying Chicken

Abstract Text:

We used whole-genome re-sequencing data from two commercial white (WL) and brown (BL) egg laying chicken lines to perform first systematic screening of recent artificial selection in the genome of modern chicken. Evidence of positive selection was investigated in two steps. First, we constructed a map of differentiated loci between WL and BL. Next, we examined evidence of parallel selection for production-related traits in the two populations. Our analyses revealed signatures of parallel selection in separate lines, exemplified with a striking evidence of selection for candidate gene OPG, a gene implicated in bone mineral density, osteoporosis and fracture risk. Our study demonstrates the utility of population based techniques for detecting recent selection in chicken. These results also show that LD decays in commercial chicken at a much faster rate than previously thought.

Keywords:

F_ST

LD

Selective sweep