Identification of differentially expressed genes associated with egg production in black-boned chicken

1. Muchuan black-bone chicken is well known in China for its meat quality and medicinal properties; however, its egg-laying performance is not ideal. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of black-boned chicken egg-laying, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed to compare differences in the pituitary transcriptome between three high-rate (group H) and three low-rate (group L) egg production chickens. 2. In total, 171 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the two groups, of which 113 were upregulated and 58 were downregulated in group L. Some of these genes are known to be related to hormone secretion or the regulation of reproductive processes; these include prolactin-releasing hormone (<i>PRLH</i>), distal-less homeobox 6 (<i>DLX6</i>), interferon regulatory factor 4 (<i>IRF4</i>), and cilia and flagella associated protein 69 (<i>CFAP69</i>). Notably, expression pattern analysis indicated that both <i>PRLH</i> and <i>DLX6</i> may influence egg-laying performance. 3. The dataset provided a foundation for discovering important genes and pathways involved in the chicken egg-laying process, and may help to improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms of chicken reproduction.

1. 沐川乌鸡（Muchuan black-bone chicken）以其优良肉质与药用价值在国内广为人知，但其产蛋性能欠佳。为深入解析乌鸡产蛋的分子机制，本研究采用高通量RNA测序（high-throughput RNA sequencing）技术，对比了3只高产蛋量组（H组）与3只低产蛋量组（L组）鸡的垂体转录组（pituitary transcriptome）差异。
2. 最终共鉴定出171个差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEGs），其中L组上调113个、下调58个。部分基因已被证实与激素分泌或生殖过程调控相关，包括催乳素释放激素（prolactin-releasing hormone, PRLH）、远端同源盒6（distal-less homeobox 6, DLX6）、干扰素调节因子4（interferon regulatory factor 4, IRF4）以及纤毛与鞭毛相关蛋白69（cilia and flagella associated protein 69, CFAP69）。值得关注的是，表达模式分析结果显示，PRLH与DLX6或可对产蛋性能产生影响。
3. 本数据集为发掘鸡产蛋过程中的关键基因与通路奠定了研究基础，同时有助于加深对鸡生殖分子机制的理解。