Hundreds of Important CNVs Identified Through Genome-wide Detection in Beijing-You Chicken

Scientist of Institute of Animal Sciences of CAAS carried out genome-wide screen of copy number variation (CNVs) in Beijing-You(BJY) chickens. The study identified 137 high confidence CNVregionsin BJYchicken genome and the paper was published in Genetica in September 2014. 

BJYchicken is a local Chinese breed withexcellent resistance to stress and disease compared to many other chicken breeds. CNV is a source of genomicvariation which includes intermediately sized DNA segmentsthat have undergone submicroscopic insertion,deletion, segmental duplication and complex changes ofgreater than 1 kb toseveral Mb.CNVis related with diverse biological functions, including the sensitivity to HIV, penetration of disease and protein function. Dr. Guiping Zhao and her colleaguesdetected CNVs of 1,310BJY chickens by agenome-wide CNV detection system based on the 60 KSNP BeadChip. 137 high confidence CNV regions covers 27.31 Mb ofthe chicken genome and correspondsto 2.61% of the chicken genome. 131 knowngenes or coding sequences were involved. Successful Q-PCR validation of phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinase IIalpha, PHD finger protein 14, RHACD8 (a CD8a- likemessenger RNA), MHC B-G, zinc finger protein, sarcosinedehydrogenase and ficolin 2 further supported the reliability of the CNV data.