| 1. |
- Bi, Huijuan, et al.
(författare)
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A frame-shift mutation in COMTD1 is associated with impaired pheomelanin pigmentation in chicken
- 2023
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 19:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The biochemical pathway regulating the synthesis of yellow/red pheomelanin is less well characterized than the synthesis of black/brown eumelanin. Inhibitor of gold (IG phenotype) is a plumage colour variant in chicken that provides an opportunity to further explore this pathway since the recessive allele (IG) at this locus is associated with a defect in the production of pheomelanin. IG/IG homozygotes display a marked dilution of red pheomelanin pigmentation, whilst black pigmentation (eumelanin) is only slightly affected. Here we show that a 2-base pair insertion (frame-shift mutation) in the 5th exon of the Catechol-O-methyltransferase containing domain 1 gene (COMTD1), expected to cause a complete or partial loss-of-function of the COMTD1 enzyme, shows complete concordance with the IG phenotype within and across breeds. We show that the COMTD1 protein is localized to mitochondria in pigment cells. Knockout of Comtd1 in a mouse melanocytic cell line results in a reduction in pheomelanin metabolites and significant alterations in metabolites of glutamate/glutathione, riboflavin, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Furthermore, COMTD1 overexpression enhanced cellular proliferation following chemical-induced transfection, a potential inducer of oxidative stress. These observations suggest that COMTD1 plays a protective role for melanocytes against oxidative stress and that this supports their ability to produce pheomelanin.
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| 2. |
- Carlborg, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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A global search reveals epistatic interaction between QTL for early growth in the chicken.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 13:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) explaining a large proportion of the variation in body weights at different ages and growth between chronological ages in an F(2) intercross between red junglefowl and White Leghorn chickens. QTL were mapped using forward selection for loci with significant marginal genetic effects and with a simultaneous search for epistatic QTL pairs. We found 22 significant loci contributing to these traits, nine of these were only found by the simultaneous two-dimensional search, which demonstrates the power of this approach for detecting loci affecting complex traits. We have also estimated the relative contribution of additive, dominance, and epistasis effects to growth and the contribution of epistasis was more pronounced prior to 46 days of age, whereas additive genetic effects explained the major portion of the genetic variance later in life. Several of the detected loci affected either early or late growth but not both. Very few loci affected the entire growth process, which points out that early and late growth, at least to some extent, have different genetic regulation.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Do, Lan, et al.
(författare)
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High Sensitivity Method to Estimate Distribution of Hyaluronan Molecular Sizes in Small Biological Samples Using Gas-Phase Electrophoretic Mobility Molecular Analysis.
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cell Biology. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1687-8876 .- 1687-8884.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hyaluronan is a negatively charged polydisperse polysaccharide where both its size and tissue concentration play an important role in many physiological and pathological processes. The various functions of hyaluronan depend on its molecular size. Up to now, it has been difficult to study the role of hyaluronan in diseases with pathological changes in the extracellular matrix where availability is low or tissue samples are small. Difficulty to obtain large enough biopsies from human diseased tissue or tissue from animal models has also restricted the study of hyaluronan. In this paper, we demonstrate that gas-phase electrophoretic molecular mobility analyzer (GEMMA) can be used to estimate the distribution of hyaluronan molecular sizes in biological samples with a limited amount of hyaluronan. The low detection level of the GEMMA method allows for estimation of hyaluronan molecular sizes from different parts of small organs. Hence, the GEMMA method opens opportunity to attain a profile over the distribution of hyaluronan molecular sizes and estimate changes caused by disease or experimental conditions that has not been possible to obtain before.
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| 5. |
- Ek, Weronica, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping QTL affecting a systemic sclerosis-like disorder in a cross between UCD-200 and red jungle fowl chickens.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Developmental and comparative immunology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0089 .- 0145-305X. ; 38:2, s. 352-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systemic sclerosis (SSc) or scleroderma is a rare, autoimmune, multi-factorial disease characterized by early microvascular alterations, inflammation, and fibrosis. Chickens from the UCD-200 line develop a hereditary SSc-like disease, showing all the hallmarks of the human disorder, which makes this line a promising model to study genetic factors underlying the disease. A backcross was generated between UCD-200 chickens and its wild ancestor - the red jungle fowl and a genome-scan was performed to identify loci affecting early (21 days of age) and late (175 days of age) ischemic lesions of the comb. A significant difference in frequency of disease was observed between sexes in the BC population, where the homogametic males were more affected than females, and there was evidence for a protective W chromosome effect. Three suggestive disease predisposing loci were mapped to chromosomes 2, 12 and 14. Three orthologues of genes implicated in human SSc are located in the QTL region on chromosome 2, TGFRB1, EXOC2-IRF4 and COL1A2, as well as CCR8, which is more generally related to immune function. IGFBP3 is also located within the QTL on chromosome 2 and earlier studies have showed increased IGFBP3 serum levels in SSc patients. To our knowledge, this study is the first to reveal a potential genetic association between IGFBP3 and SSc. Another gene with an immunological function, SOCS1, is located in the QTL region on chromosome 14. These results illustrate the usefulness of the UCD-200 chicken as a model of human SSc and motivate further in-depth functional studies of the implicated candidate genes.
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| 9. |
- Gunnarsson, Ulrika
(författare)
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Genetic Studies of Pigmentation in Chicken
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Domestic animals have been selected by humans for thousands of years, which have drastically altered their genetic constitution and phenotypes. In this thesis, several of the most important genes causing pigmentation differences between the wild red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and domestic chickens have been identified. Pigmentation phenotypes are easily scored, and the genes underlying these phenotypes are valuable models to study gene function and gene interaction. Dominant white colour is widespread among domestic chickens. The Dominant white allele specifically inhibits the expression of black (eumelanin) pigment and we identified several insertion/deletion mutations in the PMEL17 gene causing the different phenotypes controlled by this locus. The Silver allele on the other hand inhibits the expression of red (pheomelanin) colour and is a genetic variant of the SLC45A2 gene. Silver is the first pheomelanin-specific mutation(s) reported for this gene. An 8 kb deletion, including a conserved enhancer element, 14 kb upstream of the transcription factor SOX10 is causing the Dark brown phenotype. This phenotype restricts the expression of eumelanin and enhances red pheomelanin in specific parts of the plumage. These three gene identifications have extended the knowledge about genes affecting melanocyte function. Carotenoid-based pigmentation is of utmost importance in birds and other animals. The yellow skin allele in chicken allows deposition of carotenoids in skin and explains why most domestic chickens have yellow legs. We demonstrated that the yellow skin phenotype is caused by a tissue specific regulatory mutation in the gene for the enzyme beta-caroten dioxygenase 2 (BCDO2). This was the first identification of a specific gene underlying carotenoid-based pigmentation. Interestingly, the yellow skin haplotype was shown to originate from the grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii) and not the red junglefowl as expected, thus presenting the first conclusive evidence for a hybrid origin of the domestic chicken.
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| 10. |
- Gunnarsson, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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The Dark brown plumage color in chickens is caused by an 8.3 kb deletion upstream of SOX10.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Pigment cell & melanoma research. - 1755-148X .- 1755-1471.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Dark brown mutation in chickens reduces expression of black eumelanin and enhances expression of red pheomelanin but only in certain parts of the plumage. Here we present genetic evidence that an 8.3 kb deletion upstream of the SOX10 transcription start site is the causal mutation underlying the Dark brown phenotype. The SOX10 transcription factor has a well-established role in melanocyte biology and is essential for melanocyte migration and survival. Previous studies have demonstrated that the mouse homolog of a highly conserved element within the deleted region is a SOX10 enhancer. The mechanism of action of this mutation remains to be established but one possible scenario is that the deletion leads to reduced SOX10 expression which in turn down-regulates expression of key enzymes in pigment synthesis such as tyrosinase. Lower tyrosinase activity leads to a shift towards a more pheomelanistic (reddish) plumage color, which is the characteristic feature of the Dark brown phenotype.
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