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. 2021 May 8;22(1):334.
doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07668-1.

Genome-wide association study reveals novel loci associated with feeding behavior in Pekin ducks

Guang-Sheng Li  1 , Feng Zhu  1 , Fan Zhang  1 , Fang-Xi Yang  2 , Jin-Ping Hao  2 , Zhuo-Cheng Hou  3
Affiliations

Genome-wide association study reveals novel loci associated with feeding behavior in Pekin ducks

Guang-Sheng Li et al. BMC Genomics. .

Abstract

Background: Feeding behavior traits are an essential part of livestock production. However, the genetic base of feeding behavior traits remains unclear in Pekin ducks. This study aimed to determine novel loci related to feeding behavior in Pekin ducks.

Results: In this study, the feeding information of 540 Pekin ducks was recorded, and individual genotype was evaluated using genotyping-by-sequencing methods. Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was conducted for feeding behavior traits. Overall, thirty significant (P-value < 4.74E-06) SNPs for feeding behavior traits were discovered, and four of them reached the genome-wide significance level (P-value < 2.37E-07). One genome-wide significance locus associated with daily meal times was located in a 122.25 Mb region on chromosome 2, which was within the intron of gene ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 E2 (UBE2E2), and could explain 2.64% of the phenotypic variation. This locus was also significantly associated with meal feed intake, and explained 2.72% of this phenotypic variation.

Conclusions: This study is the first GWAS for feeding behavior traits in ducks. Our results provide a list of candidate genes associated with feeding behavior, and also help to better understand the genetic mechanisms of feeding behavior patterns in ducks.

Keywords: Feeding behavior; Genome-wide association analysis; Pekin duck.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Manhattan plot for feeding behavior traits. a daily feed intake; b, number of meals per day; c, meal feed intake; d, meal duration per time; e, total feeding time. The horizontal red and blue lines indicate the whole-genome significance (P-value = 2.37E-07) and potential thresholds (P-value = 4.74E-06), respectively. The top SNPs were annotated with corresponding candidate genes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Locus-specific Manhattan plot and linkage disequilibrium analysis for genome-wide SNPs. a, the number of meals per day; b, meal feed intake. The horizontal red dash line indicates the whole-genome significance (P-value = 2.37E-07)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Conditional analysis on top SNP for the number of meals per day. a, primary association signals; b association results after conditional analysis. The horizontal red and blue lines indicate the whole-genome significance (P-value = 2.37E-07) and potential thresholds (P-value = 4.74E-06), respectively. The top SNPs were annotated with the corresponding candidate gene
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