Microarray analysis of molecular pathways and candidate genes between dorsal and leg Skin in Chicken

The dorsal and leg skin showed significant difference in skin thickness, feather follicle density and size.These traits are important characters of slaughtered chicken appearance. Global gene expression profiling was conducted in dorsal and leg skin of chickens, using the Agilent Chicken Gene Expression Chip. A total of 676 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with at least 2-fold differences were identified (P < 0.05).GO analysis showed that DEGs were significantly involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptotic, cell-cell adhesion and Wnt signaling pathway; KEGG pathway analyses found that DEGs were significantly mapped into ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), regulation of actin cytoskeleton and Hedgehog signaling pathway. Four Chickens were randomly selected and killed at 9 weeks of age (marketing age). The right dorsal and leg skin samples were used in this experiment.