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. 2021 Jan 14;2021:8851888. doi: 10.1155/2021/8851888

Development of Microsatellite Marker System to Determine the Genetic Diversity of Experimental Chicken, Duck, Goose, and Pigeon Populations

Xiulin Zhang 1, Yang He 1, Wei Zhang 1, Yining Wang 1, Xinmeng Liu 1, Aique Cui 1, Yidi Gong 1, Jing Lu 1, Xin Liu 1, Xueyun Huo 1, Jianyi Lv 1, Meng Guo 1, Xiaoyan Du 1, Lingxia Han 2, Hongyan Chen 2, Jilan Chen 3, Changlong Li 1,, Zhenwen Chen 1,
PMCID: PMC7822670  PMID: 33511214

Abstract

Poultries including chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons are widely used in the biological and medical research in many aspects. The genetic quality of experimental poultries directly affects the results of the research. In this study, following electrophoresis analysis and short tandem repeat (STR) scanning, we screened out the microsatellite loci for determining the genetic characteristics of Chinese experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons. The panels of loci selected in our research provide a good choice for genetic monitoring of the population genetic diversity of Chinese native experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and ducks.

1. Introduction

Laboratory animals are important experimental materials for science research. They play key roles in the investigation of pathogenesis, diagnosis of diseases, pharmaceutical research, and other fields [1]. The genetic quality of laboratory animals directly affects the accuracy, repeatability, and scientificity of medical biological research results. Genetic monitoring is one of the effective methods to evaluate population's genetic diversity. Through genetic monitoring, whether genetic mutations and genetic pollution occurred can be analyzed.

Poultry, including chicken, duck, goose, and pigeon, has become commonly used laboratory animals [2]. They are easy to reproduce and hatch in vitro. Among them, chickens are the most widely used poultry in life science research [3, 4]. Ducks, geese, and pigeons also play important roles in the research of epidemiology, immunology, virology, and pharmacotoxicology [59]. There are many genetic analysis and quality control methods applied to chickens [10, 11]. However, at present, we find few reports about the genetic analysis systems and quality control methods of duck, goose, and pigeon populations, especially in the Chinese native groups.

Hence, in this study, we screened out the microsatellite loci with uniform distribution, stable amplification, and rich polymorphism in experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons with different genetic backgrounds [12]. We developed effective microsatellite marker systems to determine the genetic diversity of experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons, which will lay the foundation for the genetic quality control of them and promote the application of experimental poultry.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Animal Sample

Three outbred groups and three haplotype groups of experimental chicken were used in this research: outbred group BWEL-SPF chickens ((SCXK (black) 2017-005)), 40 samples, 37 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females, which has been closed for 20 generations; outbred group BM chicken (from BWEL chicken lineage (SCXK (black) 2017-005)), 40 samples, 14 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females; outbred group Beijing oil chickens, 46 samples. MHC haplotype chickens were bred from the 13th generation of BWEL chicken, the haplotype was continuously selected based on the MHC core genes, and the half-sibling or sibling mating method was used to breed to the 8th generation [13]. We selected 5 G1 haplotype chickens, 53 weeks old, 1 male and 4 females; 5 G2 haplotype chickens, 93 weeks, 1 male and 4 females; and 5 G7 haplotype chickens, 82 weeks, 1 male and 4 females. The Beijing oil chickens came from the Institute of Animal Science (IAS), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). Other samples were from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute (HVRI), CAAS. All the samples were blood.

Two outbred groups and four haplotype groups of experimental duck (bred from Jinding (JD) duck lineage (SCXK (black) 2017-006)) were selected: outbred group 1, 40 samples, 37 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females; outbred group JD duck, 40 samples, 37 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females; 10 A haplotype ducks, 53 weeks old, 1 male and 4 females; 10 B haplotype ducks, 53 weeks old, 1 male and 4 females; 10 C haplotype ducks, 53 weeks old, 1 male and 4 females; 10 D haplotype ducks, 53 weeks old, 1 male and 4 females. All the samples are duck muscle tissue and were from HVRI, CAAS.

We collected two outbred groups of experimental geese: outbred group Guangdong Wuzong goose, 44 samples, 37 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females; outbred group Yangzhou goose, 44 samples, 37 weeks old, 6 males and 34 females. All the samples are goose liver tissue. Guangdong Wuzong geese were from Southern Medical University, and Yangzhou geese were from Yangzhou University.

Forty pigeons were randomly selected from two populations of white king pigeons and silver king pigeons, half male and half female, with no age limit. All the animals were from Liujinlong pigeon farms in Beijing. Their heart tissues were collected.

All breeding is carried out in accordance with Chinese agricultural standards NY/T 1901. What is more, all experiments followed the 3R principle.

2.2. Microsatellite Locus Selection

By searching PubMed and using SSR Hunter software to analyze animal gene information, we obtained microsatellite loci for further screening.

2.3. DNA Extraction

Phenol-chloroform extraction method was used to extract DNA from muscle, liver, and heart tissue. TIANamp Blood DNA Kits (Tiangen, Beijing, China) were used to extract DNA from chicken blood samples. All DNA concentrations were diluted to 50 ng/μL, stored in -20°C.

2.4. PCR Procedure and Agarose Gel Electrophoresis

The PCR was performed in a 20 μL reaction volume containing 10 μL Dream Taq Green PCR Master Mix (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Massachusetts, MA), 2 μL pure water (ddH2O), 10 pmol each primer, and 50 ng of the extracted DNA template. The PCR protocol was as follows: 94°C for 5 min, followed by 35 cycles of 94°C for 30 s, suitable temperature for 30 s, 72°C for 30 s, and a final extension at 72°C for 5 min. Amplified products were stored at -20°C for further analysis.

Amplified products were electrophoresed on a 2% agarose gel at 130 V, 90 min.

2.5. STR Scanning

We performed STR scanning on PCR amplification products of candidate loci. The forward primers of candidate microsatellite loci were fluorescent labelled with FAM, HEX, and TAMRA. The sample genome was amplified with fluorescent primers, and the amplified products were scanned by STR through 3730xl DNA Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Massachusetts, USA). All the STR scanning was performed by Beijing Tianyi Huiyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

2.6. Data Analysis

GeneMarker V2.2.0 software was used to analyze the length of amplified fragments from different populations at each microsatellite locus. Popgene 3.2 software was used to analyze the observed number of alleles, effective number of alleles, Shannon's information index, and effective heterozygosity of microsatellite loci. The polymorphic information content of multiple sites was calculated using PIC calculation software (PIC_CALC.0.6).

3. Results

3.1. Microsatellite Locus Selection

3.1.1. Preliminary Screening of Microsatellite Loci by PCR

Firstly, we obtained the microsatellite locus information of experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons by searching previous reports on PubMed and using the SSR Hunter software to analyze the genetic information of different populations [14, 15]. We collected 72, 59, 57, and 61 microsatellite loci of experimental chicken, duck, goose, and pigeon, respectively.

In order to clarify the amplification conditions of the microsatellite loci and exclude the loci with poor specificity, we performed temperature gradient PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis of microsatellite loci. Then, we performed PCR amplification on the most suitable conditions and subjected the PCR products to agarose gel electrophoresis to screen out loci with suitable length, good polymorphism in outbred groups, good monomorphism in haplotypes, and high specificity. Taking the chicken GGNCAMZO locus and duck AY264 locus as example, the results are shown in Figure 1. GGNCAMZO locus is monomorphic in the haplotype chicken population, and AY264 locus is polymorphic in the outbred duck group.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Results of agarose gel electrophoresis of microsatellite DNA locus GGNCAMZO in experimental chickens and locus AY264 in experimental ducks. (a) GGNCAMZO in haplotype chicken line G1. (b) AY264 in the outbred group of experimental ducks.

In summary, we selected 37 and 32 microsatellite loci with good polymorphism in the outbred groups and haplotypes of chicken, respectively [12, 16, 17]. In addition, 15 and 23 loci were screened in the outbred groups and haplotypes of duck, respectively [14, 18, 19]. In the outbred groups of goose and pigeon, 14 and 20 microsatellite loci were chosen [18, 2023]. Loci in these panels would be candidate for the final microsatellite marker evaluation systems.

3.1.2. STR Scanning Analysis

In order to further complete the microsatellite marker system, we performed STR scanning on the candidate microsatellite DNA loci matched microsatellite criteria and analyzed the length of the amplified product at the peak with GeneMarker software (V1.75). Taking the UU-CliμT47 locus as an example, it showed polymorphism in the outbred group of pigeon (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Results of UU-CliμT47 scan of the experimental pigeons. (a) The STR graph corresponding to the sample of haplotype under primer UU-CliμT47 shows homozygote with a wave peak of 201 bp. (b) The STR diagram corresponding to the sample of outbred groups under primer UU-CliμT47 shows heterozygote with two wave peaks of 201 bp and 205 bp, respectively. (c) The STR diagram corresponding to the sample of outbred groups under primer UU-CliμT47 shows heterozygote with two wave peaks of 201 bp and 209 bp, respectively.

We finally determined that in experimental chickens, 28 loci were selected for genetic monitoring in the outbred groups and 14 loci for haplotypes. All microsatellite DNA loci are shown in Table 1. There are 13 common loci.

Table 1.

Number of alleles, optimal amplification conditions, and fragment length of 29 alleles for the laboratory chickens.

Loci Primer sequence (5′-3′) Temperature(°C) Allele range Applicable groups
MCW0029 GTGGACACCCATTTGTACCCTATG 63.8 139-188 Outbred group
CATGCAATTCAGGACCGTGCA
ADL0293 GTAATCTAGAAACCCCATCT 53.9 106-120 Outbred group
ACATACCGCAGTCTTTGTTC
ADL0317 AGTTGGTTTCAGCCATCCAT 58.5 177-219 Outbred group
CCCAGAGCACACTGTCACTG
GCT0016 TCCAAGGTTCTCCAGTTC 52.2 111-148 Outbred group
GGCATAAGGATAGCAACAG
ADL0304 GGGGAGGAACTCTGGAAATG 53.9 138-161 Outbred group
CCTCATGCTTCGTGCTTTTT
LEI0074 GACCTGGTCCTGACATGGGTG 58.5 221-243 Outbred group
GTTTGCTGATTAGCCATCGCG
ADL328 CACCCATAGCTGTGACTTTG 53.9 107-120 Outbred group
AAAACCGGAATGTGTAACTG
GGANTECl GCGGGGCCGTTATCAGAGCA 65.0 139-194 Outbred group
AGTGCAGGGCGCTCCTGGT
LEI094 CAGGATGGCTGTTATGCTTCCA 56.0 176-211 Outbred group
CACAGTGCAGAGTGGTGCGA
MCW0330 TGGACCTCATCAGTCTGACAG 58.5 217-287 Outbred group
AATGTTCTCATAGAGTTCCTGC
LEI0141 CGCATTTGATGCATAACACATG 52.2 221-245 Outbred group
AAGGCAAACTCAGCTGGAACG
MCW0087 ATTTCTGCAGCCAACTTGGAG 58.5 268-289 Outbred group
CTCAGGCAGTTCTCAAGAACA
MCW0347 GCTTCCAGATGAGCTCCATGG 52.0 121-149 Outbred group
CACAGCGCTGCAGCAACTG
ADL176 TTGTGGATTCTGGTGGTAGC 58.5 183-200 Outbred group
TTCTCCCGTAACACTCGTCA
ADL0201 GCTGAGGATTCAGATAAGAC 58.5 111-151 Outbred group
AATGGCYGACGTTTCACAGC
GGNCAMZO GTCACTAGGTTAGCAGCATG 56.0 234 Outbred group
GCTGGATACAGACCTCGATT Haplotype
GGAVIR AGAGATGGTGCACGCAACCT 60.7 86-89 Outbred group
CGAGCACTTTCTGGCAGAGA Haplotype
MCW0063 GGCTCCAAAAGCTTGTTCTTAGCT 53.9 116-146 Outbred group
GAAAACCAGTAAAGCTTCTTAC Haplotype
ADL185 CATGGCAGCTGACTCCAGAT 58.5 116-142 Outbred group
AGCGTTACCTGTTCGTTTGC Haplotype
GGMYC CGAGGCGCTCTGCGAGTTTA 62.4 139-151 Outbred group
TGGGGACCTCTGGCTCTGAC Haplotype
LEI0094 GATCTCACCAGTATGAGCTGC 53.9 250-283 Outbred group
TCTCACACTGTAACACAGTGC Haplotype
GGVITC AGCCATCATTCAGGGCATCT 58.5 86 Outbred group
GATGTCCTGAGTGATGCTCA Haplotype
ADL0292 CCAAATCAGGCAAAACTTCT 58.5 110-136 Outbred group
AAATGGCCTAAGGATGAGGA Haplotype
GGVITIIG GGCAGGTTTCTAATGCCTGA 56.0 186-189 Outbred group
CCCATCGTTTCAACTGTATG Haplotype
ADL166 TGCCAGCCCGTAATCATAGG 58.5 131-154 Outbred group
AAGCACCACGACCCAATCTA Haplotype
MCW0014 AAAATATTGGCTCTAGGAACTGTC 58.5 172-195 Outbred group
ACCGGAAATGAAGGTAAGACTAGC Haplotype
GGCYMA AGCGAGGCGCTCTGCGAGTT 64.6 140-153 Outbred group
GGGCACCTCTGGCTCTGACC Haplotype
MCW0402 ACTGTGCCTAGGACTAGCTG 56.0 141-229 Outbred group
CCTAAGTCTGGGCTCTTCTG Haplotype
STMSGGHU2-1A CTTAATATGTGTGAGGTGGC 53.9 235-238 Haplotype
GTTCTCACAATTGCATTAGC

In experimental duck populations, we chose 25 loci and 15 loci for genetic monitoring in the outbred duck groups and haplotype groups. There are 12 common loci. Microsatellite loci are shown in Table 2.

Table 2.

Number of alleles, optimal amplification conditions, and fragment length of 28 alleles for the laboratory ducks.

Loci Primer sequence(5′-3′) Temperature (°C) Allele range Applicable groups
CAUD007 ACTTCTCTTGTAGGCATGTCA 60.8 100-190 Outbred group
CACCTGTTGCTCCTGCTGT
CAUD004 TCCACTTGGTAGACCTTGAG 60.8 234-385 Outbred group
TGGGATTCAGTGAGAAGCCT
CAUD023 CACATTAACTACATTTCGGTCT 51.4 163-234 Outbred group
CAGCCAAAGAGTTCAACAGG
CAUD027 AGAAGGCAGGCAAATCAGAG 66.0 70-180 Outbred group
TCCACTCATAAAAACACCCACA
CAUD001 ACAGCTTCAGCAGACTTAGA 55.5 150-247 Outbred group
GCAGAAAGTGTATTAAGGAAG
CAUD031 AGCATCTGGACTTTTTCTGGA 51.4 107-187 Outbred group
CACCCCAGGCTCTGAGATAA
CAUD032 GAAACCAACTGAAAACGGGC 58.1 96-206 Outbred group
CCTCCTGCGTCCCAATAAG
AY314 CTCATTCCAATTCCTCTGTA 50.3 112-329 Outbred group
CAGCATTATTATTTCAGAAGG
CMO211 GGATGTTGCCCCACATATTT 55.0 112-205 Outbred group
TTGCCTTGTTTATGAGCCATT
APH09 GGATGTTGCCCCACATATTT 58.0 134-190 Outbred group
TTGCCTTGTTTATGAGCCATTA
APH11 GGACCTCAGGAAAATCAGTGTA 58.5 183-185 Outbred group
GCAGGCAGAGCAGGAAATA
APL2 GATTCAACCTTAGCTATCAGTCTCC 58.5 115-125 Outbred group
CGCTCTTGGCAAATGTCC
CAUD011 TGCTATCCACCCAATAAGTG 50.3 145-223 Outbred group
CAAAGTTAGCTGGTATCTGC
CAUD006 ATGGTTCTCTGTAGGCAATC 63.5 183-290 Outbred group
TTCTGCTTGGGCTCTTGGA Haplotype
CAUD018 TTAGACAAATGAGGAAATAGTA 50.3 100-180 Outbred group
GTCCAAACTAAATGCAGGC Haplotype
CAUD010 GGATGTGTTTTTCATTATTGAT 50.3 138-200 Outbred group
AGAGGCATAAATACTCAGTG Haplotype
CAUD012 ATTGCCTTTCAGTGGAGTTTC 63.5 182-286 Outbred group
CGGCTCTAAACACATGAATG Haplotype
CAUD014 CACAACTGACGGCACAAAGT 58.1 136-200 Outbred group
CTGAGTTTTTCCCGCCTCTA Haplotype
CAUD034 TACTGCATATCACTAGAGGA 55.5 160-296 Outbred group
TAGGCATACTCGGGTTTAG Haplotype
CAUD035 GTGCCTAACCCTGATGGATG 63.5 174-282 Outbred group
CTTATCAGATGGGGCTCGGA Haplotype
APL579 ATTAGAGCAGGAGTTAGGAGAC 55.0 116-227 Outbred group
GCAAGAAGTGGCTTTTTTC Haplotype
AY258 ATGTCTGAGTCCTCGGAGC 58.1 89-162 Outbred group
ACAATAGATTCCAGATGCTGAA Haplotype
CMO212 CTCCACTAGAACACAGACATT 58.0 186-272 Outbred group
CATCTTTGGCATTTTGAAG Haplotype
CAUD028 TACACCCAAGTTTATTCTGAG 55.5 152-226 Outbred group
ACTCTCCAGGGCACTAGG Haplotype
CAUD026 ACGTCACATCACCCCACAG 60.8 134-196 Outbred group
CTTTGCCTCTGGTGAGGTTC Haplotype
APH18 TTCTGGCCTGATAGGTATGAG 58.0 178-325 Haplotype
GAATTGGGTGGTTCATACTGT
CAUD002 CTTCGGTGCCTGTCTTAGC 60.8 200-231 Haplotype
AGCTGCCTGGAGAAGGTCT
CAUD005 CTGGGTTTGGTGGAGCATAA 60.8 184-290 Haplotype
TACTGGCTGCTTCATTGCTG

14 microsatellite loci with good polymorphism were considered as microsatellite markers in the outbred group of goose. Table 3 demonstrates the number of alleles, optimal amplification conditions, and fragment length of 14 alleles for the outbred experiment geese.

Table 3.

Number of alleles, optimal amplification conditions, and fragment length of 14 alleles for the outbred colony laboratory geese.

Loci Primer sequence(5′-3′) Temperature (°C) Allele range
G-Ans17 ACAAATAACTGGTTCTAAGCAC 51.0 111–123
AGAGGACTTCTATTCATAAATA
G-TTUCG1 CCCTGCTGGTATACCTGA 53.0 113-115
GTGTCTACACAACAGC
G-APH13 CAACGAGTGACAATGATAAAA 53.0 163-165
CAATGATCTCACTCCCAATAG
G-Ans02 TTCTGTGCAGGGGCGAGTT 58.0 202–230
AGGGAACCGATCACGACATG
G-Ans07 GACTGAGGAACTACAATTGACT 62.0 236–246
ACAAAGACTACTACTGCCAAG
G-Ans18 GTGTTCTCTGTTTATGATATTAC 56.0 229–237
AACAGAATTTGCTTGAAACTGC
G-Ans25 CACTTATTAATGGCACTTGAAA 62.0 261–277
GTTCTCTTGTCACAACTGGA
G-Hhiμ1b ATCAAAGGCACAATGTGAAAT 60.0 212–216
AGTAAGGGGGCTTCCACC
G-CKW47 AACTTCTGCACCTAAAAACTGTCA 56.0 213-215
TGCTGAGGTAACAGGAATTAAAA
G-Bcaμ5 AGTGTTTCTTTCATCTCCACAAGC 56.0 197-201
AGACCACAATCGGACCACATATTC
G-Bcaμ7 TAGTTTCTATTTGCACCCAATGGAG 60.0 171-175
CGGTCCTGTCCTTGTGCTGTAA
G-Bcaμ8 CCCAAGACTCACAAAACCAGAAAT 58.0 155-159
ATGAAAGAAGAGTTAAACGTGTGCAA
G-CAUD006 ATGGTTCTCTGTAGGCAATC 56.0 170-210
TTCTGCTTGGGCTCTTGGA
G-APH20 ACCAGCCTAGCAAGCACTGT 53.0 140-150
GAGGCTTTAGGAGAGATTGAAAAA

In the outbred group of pigeon, we finally screened out 16 microsatellite loci with good polymorphism, several alleles, and typical stutter peaks. All microsatellite locus information is shown in Table 4.

Table 4.

Number of alleles, optimal amplification conditions, and fragment length of 16 alleles for the outbred colony laboratory pigeons.

Loci Primer sequence(5′-3′) Temperature (°C) Allele range
UU-Cli02 TGGGCAAGGTACACTTTTAGGT 61.0 158-170
CTTTATGCTCCCCCTTGAGAT
UU-Cli06 TTTGAAAAACATGGATTGTGC 56.0 140-145
AATTTGCAGAGGGTGAGTGG
PG5 GTTCTTGGTGTTGCATGGATGC 59.0 262-266
AGTTACGAAATGATTGCCAGAAG
C26L9(1265223) CAAAGCTGCTGACGTGAATCAA 59.0 467-472
AGAGACGCTCCATGCAAAAG
UU-Cli14 CAGAACGTTTTGTTCTGTTTGG 58.0 265-292
TCTTGCTGCAGTCTTCATCC
C12L1(532572) GTTGTTTGGCTGAGTGGACG 62.0 126-136
TCAACCAGGGGAATTGGCAG
C12L4(906353) GCTGCTGTCTTCTTCATTGGG 60.0 210-250
TTAAAACCTCCCGTCTCCCTG
CliμD11 CCAATCCCAAAGAGGATTAT 58.0 78-98
ACTGTCCTATGGCTGAAGTG
C26L10(1404758) GCTGTCAGGTATCAGCCACAA 59.0 211-226
TCAGACCCACGAAAGCTGTAA
C26L4(568923) CAACCCCATGTGGGTGAGAC 63.0 357-432
CACCACCACGTGGGACATC
PG4 CCCATCTCCTGCCTGATGC 64.0 136-170
CACAGCAGGATGCTGCCTGC
UU-Cli12 CGCCAGACTGTATTGTGAGC 61.0 231-265
AGCATGGCTGTTCTTTGAGG
CliμT47 ATGTGTGTTTGTGCATGAAG 56.0 183-214
ATGAAAGCCTGTTAGTGGAA
CliμD32 GAGCCATTTCAGTGAGTGACA 60.0 136-158
GTTTGCAGGAGCGTGTAGAGAAGT
UU-Cli07 GCTGCCTGTTACTACCTGAGC 61.0 277-310
CTGGCCATGAAATGAACTCC
C26L1(20390) AGGAGCCTACACTGGGTTTTC 60.0 250-268
TGTAGCTCTGCAATCAGCCT

3.1.3. Analysis of Population Microsatellite Loci

We inputted the results of STR scanning into Popgene 3.2 to analyze experimental chicken in the outbred groups and the haplotypes at 29 loci. In the outbred groups, 28 microsatellite loci show a high degree of polymorphism, and the average number of observed alleles is 4.571. The average number of effective alleles is 3.270, and the average Shannon's information index is 1.198 (Table 5). Furthermore, the average effective heterozygosity is 0.492. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) is 0.610. All these data indicate a good genetic diversity of screening loci in the outbred groups and large heterozygosity difference among the laboratory experimental chicken populations.

Table 5.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, PIC, and Shannon's index of the outbred colony chicken samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity PIC
MCW0029 4 2.931 1.209 0.579 0.603
GGNCAMZO 2 1.069 0.146 0.060 0.062
ADL0293 5 3.200 1.311 0.573 0.634
ADL0317 7 5.236 1.768 0.554 0.783
GGAVIR 3 1.916 0.796 0.456 0.408
ADL0201 5 2.103 1.013 0.429 0.482
GCT0016 5 3.042 1.274 0.337 0.618
ADL0304 6 4.641 1.627 0.666 0.751
MCW0402 8 6.042 1.881 0.702 0.813
MCW0063 7 4.319 1.626 0.568 0.736
ADL185 5 3.204 1.359 0.614 0.647
GGMYC 2 1.800 0.637 0.427 0.346
LEI0094 6 3.674 1.468 0.562 0.683
LEI0074 4 3.707 1.348 0.597 0.681
ADL328 3 2.785 1.058 0.526 0.565
GGVITC 1 1.000 0.000 0.000 1.000
GGANTECL 3 2.897 1.080 0.600 0.580
LEI094 6 4.444 1.579 0.690 0.738
MCW0330 4 3.232 1.269 0.577 0.637
LEI0141 4 3.162 1.229 0.341 0.623
ADL0292 3 2.793 1.061 0.475 0.568
GGVITIIG 2 1.965 0.684 0.460 0.371
MCW0087 8 5.930 1.898 0.544 0.810
MCW0347 3 1.948 0.815 0.447 0.419
ADL176 9 4.846 1.858 0.522 0.773
ADL166 5 3.729 1.380 0.574 0.682
MCW0014 5 4.342 1.543 0.592 0.735
GGCYMA 3 1.603 0.632 0.317 0.322
Mean 4.571 3.270 1.198 0.492 0.610

In the other 3 haplotype populations, 14 microsatellite loci showed monomorphism in each population but showed different lengths in different haplotype populations. The average number of observed alleles is 1.571. The average number of effective alleles, the average Shannon's information index, and the average effective heterozygosity are 1.433, 0.316, and 0.207, respectively (Table 6). The specific data of each haplotype population is shown in Supplementary Tables 1–3.

Table 6.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the haplotype chicken samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity
GGNCAMZO 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
GGAVIR 2 1.923 0.673 0.480
MCW0402 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
MCW0063 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
ADL185 3 2.174 0.898 0.540
GGMYC 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
LEI0094 3 2.778 1.055 0.640
GGVITC 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
ADL0292 2 1.471 0.500 0.320
GGVITIIG 2 2.000 0.693 0.500
ADL166 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
MCW0014 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
GGCYMA 1 1.000 0.000 0.000
STMSGGHU2-1A 2 1.724 0.611 0.420
Mean 1.571 1.434 0.316 0.207

In the outbred group of duck, 25 microsatellite loci show polymorphism. The average number of observed alleles is 7.520, and the average number of effective alleles in the population is 4.162. The average Shannon's information index is 1.574, and the average effective heterozygosity is 0.683. The average PIC is 0.698. These data showed that in the outbred groups, the genetic diversity of microsatellite DNA loci is better, and the genetic diversity of each locus is quite different. The specific results are shown in Table 7.

Table 7.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, PIC, and Shannon's index of outbred colony duck samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity PIC
CMO211 8 4.628 1.698 0.764 0.752
CAUD011 9 5.024 1.835 0.799 0.775
CAUD027 9 3.698 1.588 0.654 0.696
APH09 8 4.840 1.728 0.756 0.763
AY314 12 7.285 2.165 0.806 0.848
AY258 9 3.503 1.586 0.700 0.684
CAUD018 4 2.941 1.194 0.640 0.596
CAUD031 8 4.459 1.711 0.730 0.746
CAUD026 7 4.674 1.697 0.750 0.757
CAUD023 7 2.725 1.315 0.584 0.591
CMO212 8 4.154 1.642 0.739 0.724
CAUD006 4 3.333 1.280 0.440 0.645
CAUD004 7 5.556 1.834 0.720 0.798
CAUD001 6 5.000 1.696 0.600 0.772
CAUD034 10 3.943 1.742 0.730 0.723
CAUD007 8 3.894 1.639 0.714 0.713
APL579 7 3.068 1.412 0.635 0.636
CAUD010 6 4.655 1.630 0.768 0.753
CAUD028 5 3.549 1.378 0.541 0.668
CAUD012 7 3.122 1.354 0.652 0.630
CAUD035 10 5.768 1.922 0.759 0.804
CAUD014 9 3.600 1.448 0.696 0.672
CAUD032 14 6.159 2.120 0.797 0.821
APH11 2 1.923 0.673 0.479 0.365
APL2 4 2.556 1.067 0.609 0.529
Mean 7.520 4.162 1.574 0.683 0.698

In 4 haplotype populations, 15 microsatellite loci show monomorphism in each population. The average number of observed alleles is 4.133, the average number of effective alleles is 2.863, and the average Shannon's information index is 1.153, indicating that the genetic diversity of the loci in these haplotype populations is poor; the average effective heterozygosity is 0.500, indicating that the heterozygosity difference is small and the genetic information of the selected loci is relatively single. See Table 8 for more detailed information, and the specific data in each haplotype population is shown in Supplementary Tables 4–7.

Table 8.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of haplotype duck samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity
CAUD002 3 2.020 0.857 0.360
CAUD006 4 2.740 1.142 0.540
CAUD018 3 1.802 0.746 0.400
CAUD005 5 3.945 1.490 0.551
APL579 5 2.632 1.205 0.500
APH18 7 4.301 1.655 0.640
CAUD010 3 2.597 1.010 0.420
CAUD028 2 1.980 0.688 0.360
CAUD012 3 2.597 1.010 0.420
CAUD035 4 3.756 1.353 0.605
CAUD014 4 3.509 1.306 0.580
CAUD026 4 2.740 1.142 0.520
CMO212 5 3.774 1.458 0.640
AY258 4 2.353 1.063 0.500
CAUD034 6 2.198 1.164 0.460
Mean 4.133 2.863 1.153 0.500

In the outbred colony of experimental goose, 14 loci were selected. The average number of observed alleles, the average number of effective alleles, the average Shannon's information index, the average effective heterozygosity, and the PIC are 4.714, 3.038, 1.195, 0.528, and 0.582, respectively. The microsatellite loci have large interindividual differences within the population, and the population has high gene stability (Table 9).

Table 9.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, PIC, and Shannon's index of outbred colony goose samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity PIC
G-Ans17 4 1.843 0.775 0.441 0.388
G-TTUCG1 3 2.255 0.943 0.381 0.494
G-APH13 4 1.605 0.752 0.315 0.352
G-Ans02 8 5.389 1.837 0.749 0.790
G-Ans07 4 3.073 1.220 0.634 0.613
G-Ans18 3 2.208 0.922 0.309 0.481
G-Ans25 4 3.333 1.282 0.629 0.647
G-Hhiμ1b 4 2.965 1.147 0.471 0.594
G-CKW47 4 3.143 1.238 0.573 0.623
G-Bcaμ5 3 2.728 1.051 0.469 0.562
G-Bcaμ7 6 2.731 1.158 0.455 0.562
G-Bcaμ8 7 2.845 1.290 0.635 0.599
G-CAUD006 4 3.704 1.344 0.602 0.680
G-APH20 8 4.713 1.772 0.734 0.761
Mean 4.714 3.038 1.195 0.528 0.582

The selected microsatellite loci all show good polymorphism in the experimental outbred pigeon populations. A total of 16 loci were selected. The average number of observed alleles is 7.875. The average effective allele number is 4.554; the average Shannon's information index and the average effective heterozygosity are 1.559 and 0.649. The average PIC is 0.674 (Table 10).

Table 10.

Number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, PIC, and Shannon's index of outbred colony pigeon samples.

Loci Observed number of alleles Effective number of alleles Shannon's information index Effective heterozygosity PIC
UU-Cli02 5 3.613 1.374 0.694 0.672
UU-Cli06 4 2.921 1.163 0.383 0.593
PG5 2 1.681 0.595 0.397 0.323
C26L9(1265223) 4 2.576 1.076 0.602 0.533
UU-Cli14 10 5.144 1.923 0.787 0.784
C12L1(532572) 4 2.810 1.118 0.487 0.575
C12L4(906353) 11 6.375 2.052 0.766 0.825
CliμD11 7 4.541 1.682 0.734 0.750
C26L10(1404758) 11 9.118 2.281 0.860 0.880
C26L4(568923) 13 5.854 2.062 0.807 0.812
PG4 10 6.847 2.017 0.767 0.836
UU-Cli12 8 2.825 1.364 0.623 0.599
CliμT47 7 3.492 1.413 0.658 0.666
CliμD32 9 6.695 1.991 0.807 0.833
UU-Cli07 5 1.352 0.592 0.252 0.251
C26L1(20390) 16 7.014 2.244 0.759 0.844
Mean 7.875 4.554 1.559 0.649 0.674

3.1.4. Population Genetic Structure Analysis

Among the three outbred chicken groups, the mean number of observed alleles, the mean number of effective alleles, the mean Shannon's information index, and the mean effective heterozygosity are shown in Table 11. All these data are the highest in the Beijing oil chicken, indicating the best gene diversity.

Table 11.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the outbred colonies of chickens.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
BWEL 2.857 2.024 0.730 0.424
BM 2.857 2.132 0.802 0.485
Beijing oil chicken 4.464 2.821 1.088 0.569

In the haplotype chicken populations, the highest mean observed number of alleles is observed in G7groups. Haplotype G7 has the highest mean effective allele number and the highest mean Shannon's information index. The mean effective heterozygosity of haplotype G7 is 0.364. The genetic heterozygosity of the 3 populations is very low, and the consistency is good (Table 12).

Table 12.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the haplotype chickens.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
G1 1.571 1.434 0.316 0.207
G2 1.643 1.409 0.335 0.224
G7 2.000 1.626 0.548 0.364

In the two outbred groups of duck, the mean number of observed alleles, the mean effective number of alleles, the mean Shannon's index, and the mean effective heterozygosity of outbred group 1 are higher than those of outbred group JD, indicating that outbred group 1 had better diversity. The results are shown in Table 13. Among the 4 haplotype populations, the highest mean number of alleles is observed in haplotype A. Haplotype A has the highest mean Shannon's information index. The highest mean effective heterozygosity in the duck groups is 0.489 in haplotype A (Table 14). The genetic heterozygosity of 4 populations is in good agreement.

Table 13.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the outbred colonies of ducks.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
1 6.320 3.518 1.410 0.685
JD 5.280 3.466 1.335 0.680
Table 14.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the haplotype ducks.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
A 2.400 2.022 0.760 0.489
B 2.333 2.029 0.745 0.484
C 2.400 1.912 0.726 0.459
D 2.333 1.944 0.701 0.442

In the two outbred groups of goose, the mean number of observed alleles, the mean effective number of alleles, and the mean Shannon's index of Guangdong Wuzong goose are higher than those of Yangzhou goose, indicating that Guangdong Wuzong goose has a better diversity (Table 15).

Table 15.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the outbred colonies of geese.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
Guangdong Wuzong 4.000 2.769 1.112 0.618
Yangzhou 3.714 2.155 0.802 0.439

The analysis of the two main experimental pigeon populations used for scientific research shows that the mean effective heterozygosity of two populations is 0.647 and 0.651, respectively. The mean number of observed alleles, the mean effective number of alleles, and the mean Shannon's index are higher in white king pigeons than in silver king pigeons. The comparison of the data is shown in Table 16.

Table 16.

Comparison of mean observed allele number, mean effective allele number, mean Shannon's index, and mean effective heterozygosity among the outbred colonies of pigeons.

Colonies Mean observed number of alleles Mean effective number of alleles Mean Shannon's information index Mean effective heterozygosity
Silver king 6.125 3.260 1.307 0.647
White king 7.375 4.247 1.435 0.651

4. Discussion

Poultries are widely used and are indispensable supporting conditions for the life sciences and biomedicine industries. Specific pathogen-free (SPF) chicken embryos are used in the manufacture and quality control of biological product [4]; ducks play an important role in the research of avian influenza, fatty liver, duck hepatitis A, and duck hepatitis B [57]; goose blood contains a higher concentration of immunoglobulin, which is often used in pharmacology and toxicology research [8]; pigeons belong to the class of birds and are considered as important animal model in avian influenza research [9]. With the increasing demand for experiment poultry, people are paying more attention to the genetic structure analysis and genetic quality control. However, the current methods of genetic structure analysis and genetic quality control for experimental poultry animals are insufficient.

Coat colour gene testing method, biochemical marker gene testing method, immune marker gene testing method, and DNA molecular marker method are popular methods for genetic monitoring. Microsatellite DNA, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), single-stranded conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), and specific gene polymorphisms are commonly used DNA molecular marker methods [2427]. Among them, microsatellite DNA has become valuable tools for evaluating population genetic diversity due to their unique virtue.

Microsatellite DNA is characterized by short tandem repeats (STRs) of 1 to 6 nucleotides in eukaryotic genome with a random manner [28]. It has rich polymorphism and large genetic information. Microsatellite can be used to distinguish heterozygous from homozygous because of their codominant inheritance feature [29]. In previous studies, microsatellites have been used as biomarkers for monitoring rodent genetic traits [30, 31]. With the deep understanding of microsatellites, it plays a more important role in genetic monitoring for being simple, clear, and stable in operation. In this research, we screened out microsatellite loci with suitable length and high specificity as candidate loci by gel electrophoresis firstly. Then, we performed STR scanning on these candidate loci. Microsatellite loci with good polymorphism, abundant alleles in the outbred groups, and good monomorphism in the haplotype populations were selected to form the microsatellite marker system. We analyzed the average effective allele number, average Shannon's index, average effective heterozygosity, and other analytical indices to estimate genetic variation in different groups.

The mean effective number of alleles is an indicator of genetic variation and mutation drift balance. In our study, Beijing oil chicken has the highest mean effective allele number of three outbred chicken populations; outbred duck group 1 has higher mean effective allele number than outbred duck group JD. The outbred goose group Guangdong Wuzong and outbred pigeon group white king have the highest mean number of effective alleles in outbred goose populations and outbred pigeon populations, respectively. The higher mean effective number of alleles indicates that the population can maintain the original gene and avoid new variations under the pressures from genetic drift and artificial selection. The results show that Beijing oil chicken, outbred duck group 1, Guangdong Wuzong goose, and white king pigeon are the most stable strains in the outbred group of experiment chicken, duck, goose, and pigeon groups in this research, respectively.

The mean effective heterozygosity of a population is an important indicator of population genetic diversity and can reflect the richness of the detected genes. It is generally believed that when the mean effective heterozygosity of the population is less than 0.5, it indicates that the individual differences in the population are small and the genetic heterozygosity is low, which does not conform to the genetic characteristics of an outbred group animal. When the mean effective heterozygosity of the population is higher than 0.7, its genetic diversity is high [32].

Hence, we found that the mean effective heterozygosity of BWEL, BM, and Beijing oil chicken groups is all greater than 0.5, which conforms to the characteristics of the outbred group. The mean effective heterozygosity of BWEL and BM chicken groups is nearly 0.5. The average effective heterozygosity of G1, G2, and G7 groups is all less than 0.5. It is also consistent with the background that BWEL, BM, and Beijing oil chickens are outbred colonies; Beijing oil chicken has abundant genetic diversity and high selection potential for it has the highest mean effective heterozygosity among the outbred chicken groups in this study. This may be due to the large population. Duck group 1 and JD duck all have a mean effective heterozygosity greater than 0.680 which indicates a high genetic diversity. The mean effective heterozygosity of Guangdong Wuzong goose group, silver king pigeon group, and white king pigeon group is all greater than 0.5 which reflects abundant genetic diversity. The mean effective heterozygosity of three haplotype chicken groups and four haplotype duck groups is 0.207 and 0.500, respectively. The result indicates a good consistency in haplotype chickens and ducks. This may be the result of long-term full-sib and half-sib reproduction. Chickens and ducks are more widely used in biological research, and the breeding standards are stricter, while geese and pigeons are more useful in agriculture. Haplotype chickens have lower mean effective heterozygosity than haplotype duck populations, which is consistent with a longer history of breeding in experimental chickens.

When measuring the degree of gene variation, PIC is often used as a variation index. It is generally believed that when PIC is between 0.25 and 0.5, it is moderately polymorphic, and <0.25 shows a low level of polymorphism, when PIC is greater than 0.5, it means a high level of polymorphism [33]. In our microsatellite marker system, most of the microsatellite sites have a PIC greater than 0.5 that show high polymorphism. All these data prove that our microsatellite marker system provides rich genetic information, which can be used as effective genetic markers. In our study, highly polymorphic microsatellite marker systems showed powerful markers for quantifying genetic variations within and between poultry populations. We will collect more samples to make a more accurate description of genetic structure of the Chinese experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons in the future [34].

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, we identified appropriate microsatellite marker systems for native experimental chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons in China. The combination of loci selected in our research provides a good choice for genetic monitoring of the quality and the population genetic diversity of poultry stocks.

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to the Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Southern Medical University and Yangzhou University for providing animal samples for this study. This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Projects (No. D181100000518002), Support Project of High-level Teachers in Beijing Municipal Universities in the Period of 13th Five-year Plan (Grant Number IDHT20170516), and the National Key Research and Development Plan of China (No. 2017YFD0501602).

Contributor Information

Changlong Li, Email: licl@ccmu.edu.cn.

Zhenwen Chen, Email: czwen@ccmu.edu.cn.

Data Availability

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Table 1: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G1 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 2: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G2 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 3: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G7 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 4: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the A haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 5: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the B haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 6: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the C haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 7: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the D haplotype duck population.

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary Table 1: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G1 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 2: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G2 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 3: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the G7 haplotype chicken population. Supplementary Table 4: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the A haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 5: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the B haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 6: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the C haplotype duck population. Supplementary Table 7: number of alleles, effective alleles, effective heterozygosity, and Shannon's index of the D haplotype duck population.

Data Availability Statement

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.


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