Genome-wide identification evolution and expression of vestigial-like gene family in chicken

<i>Vestigial-like</i> (<i>Vgll</i>) genes are widespread in vertebrates and play an important role in muscle development. In this study, we used bioinformatics methods to systematically identify the chicken <i>VGLL</i> family in the whole genome and investigated its evolutionary history and gene structure features. Tissue expression spectra combined with real-time PCR data were used to analyze the organizational expression pattern of the genes. Based on the maximum likelihood method, a phylogenetic tree of the <i>VGLL</i> family was constructed, and 94 <i>VGLL</i> genes were identified in 24 breeds, among which four <i>VGLL</i> family genes were identified in the chicken genome. Ten motifs were detected in the <i>VGLL</i> genes, and the analysis of introns combined with gene structure revealed that the family was conserved during evolution. Tissue expression analysis suggested that the expression profiles of the <i>VGLL</i> family genes in 16 tissues differed between LU Shi and AA broilers. In addition, a single gene (<i>VGLL2</i>) showed increased expression in chickens at embryonic days 10–16 and was involved in the growth and development of skeletal muscle in chickens in the embryonic stage. In summary, <i>VGLL</i> genes are involved in chicken muscle growth and development, which provides useful information for subsequent functional studies of <i>VGLL</i> genes.