RNA-Seq Analysis Reveals Expression Regulatory Divergence of W-Linked Genes between Two Contrasting Chicken Breeds
Hongchang Gu,
Liang Wang,
Xueze Lv,
Weifang Yang,
Yu Chen,
Kaiyang Li,
Jianwei Zhang,
Yaxiong Jia,
Zhonghua Ning,
Lujiang Qu
Affiliations
Hongchang Gu
National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Liang Wang
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Xueze Lv
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Weifang Yang
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Yu Chen
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Kaiyang Li
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Jianwei Zhang
Beijing Municipal General Station of Animal Science, Beijing 100107, China
Yaxiong Jia
Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Zhonghua Ning
National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Lujiang Qu
National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
The regulation of gene expression is a complex process involving organism function and phenotypic diversity, and is caused by cis- and trans- regulation. While prior studies identified the regulatory pattern of the autosome rewiring in hybrids, the role of gene regulation in W sex chromosomes is not clear due to their degradation and sex-limit expression. Here, we developed reciprocal crosses of two chicken breeds, White Leghorn and Cornish Game, which exhibited broad differences in gender-related traits, and assessed the expression of the genes on the W chromosome to disentangle the contribution of cis- and trans-factors to expression divergence. We found that female-specific selection does not have a significant effect on W chromosome gene-expression patterns. For different tissues, there were most parental divergence expression genes in muscle, and also more heterosis compared with two other tissues. Notably, a broader pattern of trans regulation in the W chromosome was observed, which is consistent with autosomes. Taken together, this work describes the regulatory divergence of W-linked genes between two contrasting breeds and indicates sex chromosomes have a unique regulation and expression mechanism.
