Prediction of the Effect of Methylation in the Promoter Region of ZP2 Gene on Egg Production in Jinghai Yellow Chickens

Abstract

Egg production in chickens is a quantitative trait. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of promoter methylation of the Zona pellucida 2 (ZP2) gene on egg production. Real-time fluorescence quantification showed that the expression of the ZP2 gene in the ovaries of 300-day-old Jinghai yellow chickens in the high-laying group was significantly higher than that in the low-laying group (p p < 0.05). In addition, the mC-20 and mC-21 sites are located on the Sp1 transcription factor binding site, and it is speculated that these two sites may be the main sites for regulating transcription. In summary, the methylation sites mC-20 and mC-21 of the ZP2 gene may inhibit the binding of Sp1 and DNA, affect the transcription of the ZP2 gene, and then affect the number of eggs produced by the Jinghai yellow chickens.

Keywords

• Jinghai yellow chickens
• egg production
• promoter
• CpG island
• methylation