Genome-wide variation study and inter-tissue communication analysis unveil regulatory mechanisms of egg-laying performance in chickens

Dandan Wang, Lizhi Tan, Yihao Zhi, Lina Bu, Yangyang Wang, Zhang Wang, Yulong Guo, Weihua Tian, Chunlin Xu, Donghua Li, Zhuanjian Li, Ruirui Jiang, Ruili Han, Guoxi Li, Yongqiang Wang, Dong Xia, Yadong Tian, Ian Dunn, Xiaoxiang Hu, Hong LiYiqiang Zhao, Xiangtao Kang, Xiaojun Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Egg-laying performance is of great economic importance in poultry, but the underlying genetic mechanisms are still elusive. In this work, we conduct a multi-omics and multi-tissue integrative study in hens with distinct egg production, to detect the hub candidate genes and construct hub molecular networks contributing to egg-laying phenotypic differences. We identifiy three hub candidate genes as egg-laying facilitators: TFPI2, which promotes the GnRH secretion in hypothalamic neuron cells; CAMK2D, which promotes the FSHβ and LHβ secretion in pituitary cells; and OSTN, which promotes granulosa cell proliferation and the synthesis of sex steroid hormones. We reveal key endocrine factors involving egg production by inter-tissue crosstalk analysis, and demonstrate that both a hepatokine, APOA4, and an adipokine, ANGPTL2, could increase egg production by inter-tissue communication with hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Together, These results reveal the molecular mechanisms of multi-tissue coordinative regulation of chicken egg-laying performance and provide key insights to avian reproductive regulation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number7069
Pages (from-to)1-18
Number of pages18
JournalNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
Early online date16 Aug 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Animals
  • Chickens/genetics
  • Female
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/metabolism
  • Granulosa Cells/metabolism
  • Oviposition/genetics
  • Pituitary Gland/metabolism
  • Hypothalamus/metabolism
  • Reproduction/genetics
  • Ovary/metabolism
  • Follicle Stimulating Hormone, beta Subunit/genetics
  • Angiopoietin-like Proteins/metabolism
  • Avian Proteins/genetics

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