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RUNX2 Plays an Essential Role in the Manifestation of Femoral Head Necrosis in Broilers

Friday, August 22, 2014
Posters (The Westin Bayshore)
Ediane Paludo , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Adriana M.G. Ibelli , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Jane O. Peixoto , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Fernando C. Tavernari , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Ricardo Zanella , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
José R. Pandolfi , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Luiz L. Coutinho , Universidade de São Paulo/Esalq, Piracicaba, Brazil
Carlos AV Lima-Rosa , Santa Catarina State University, Lages, Brazil
Mônica C. Ledur , EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry, Concórdia, Brazil
Abstract Text: Economic losses due to the increase of leg disorders in broilers have become one of the major concerns from the poultry industry. Despite the efforts to select animals against skeletal abnormalities, insufficient progress was obtained. The genetic pathways and genes involved in most of the bone pathologies, including femoral head necrosis, remains unclear. In this study, bone samples were collected from broilers with femoral head necrosis (FHN) and with normal femurs. The qPCR reactions for the TNFRSF11B, RUNX2, CALB1 and SMAD1 genes were submitted to relative quantification analysis. Only RUNX2 was differentially expressed, being down regulated (p<0.05) in the affected group, with its expression reduced four times when compared to the non-affected group. This result may indicate that the repression of RUNX2 gene product could contribute to an increased incidence of femoral head necrosis in chickens.

Keywords:

Leg disorders

gene expression

qPCR

See more of: Posters: Poultry Breeding (Group 1)
See more of: Species Breeding: Poultry
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