| 1. |
- Groenen, Martien, et al.
(författare)
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A high-density SNP-based linkage map of the chicken genome reveals sequence features correlated with recombination rate
- 2009
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Ingår i: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 19:3, s. 510-519
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The resolution of the chicken consensus linkage map has been dramatically improved in this study by genotyping 12,945 SNPs on three existing mapping populations in chicken; the Wageningen (WU), East Lansing (EL) and Uppsala (UPP) mapping populations. As many as 8599 SNPs could be included bringing the total number of markers in the current consensus linkage map to 9268. The total length of the sex average map is 3228 cM, considerably smaller than previous estimates using the WU and EL populations, reflecting the higher quality of the new map. The current map consists of 34 linkage groups and covers at least 29 of the 38 autosomes. Sex-specific analysis and comparisons of the maps based on the three individual populations showed prominent heterogeneity in recombination rates between populations but no significant heterogeneity between sexes. The recombination rates in the F1 Red Jungle fowl/White Leghorn males and females were significantly lower compared with those in the WU broiler population, consistent with a higher recombination rate in purebred domestic animals under strong artificial selection. The recombination rate varied considerably among chromosomes as well as along individual chromosomes. An analysis of the sequence composition at recombination hot and cold spots revealed a strong positive correlation between GC-rich sequences and high recombination rates. The GC-rich cohesin binding sites in particular stood out from other GC-rich sequences with a 3.4-fold higher density at recombination hot spots versus cold spots, suggesting a functional relationship between recombination frequency and cohesin binding.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Jacobsson, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Many QTLs with minor additive effects are associated with a large difference in growth between two selection lines in chickens
- 2005
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Ingår i: Genetical Research. - 0016-6723 .- 1469-5073. ; 86:2, s. 115-125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two growth-selected lines in chickens have been developed from a single founder population bydivergent selection for body weight at 56 days of age. After more than 40 generations of selectionthey show a nine-fold difference in body weight at selection age and large differences in growth rate,appetite, fat deposition and metabolic characteristics. We have generated a large intercross betweenthese lines comprising more than 800 F2 birds. QTL mapping revealed 13 loci affecting growth.The most striking observation was that the allele in the high weight line in all cases was associatedwith enhanced growth, but each locus explained only a small proportion of the phenotypic varianceusing a standard QTL model (1.3–3.1%). This result is in sharp contrast to our previous studywhere we reported that the two-fold difference in adult body size between the red junglefowl andWhite Leghorn domestic chickens is explained by a small number of QTLs with large additiveeffects. Furthermore, no QTLs for anorexia or antibody response were detected despite largedifferences for these traits between the founder lines. The result is an excellent example where alarge phenotypic difference between populations occurs in the apparent absence of any single locuswith large phenotypic effects. The study underscores the need for powerful experimental designs ingenetic studies of multifactorial traits. No QTL at all would have reached genome-wide significanceusing a less powerful design (e.g. approx. 200 F2 individuals) regardless of the nine-fold phenotypicdifference between the founder lines for the selected trait.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Wahlberg, Elisabet, 1963-
(författare)
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Structure determination and thermodynamic stabilization of an engineered protein-protein complex
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The interaction between two 6 kDa proteins has been investigated. The studied complex of micromolar affinity (Kd) consists of the Z domain derived from staphylococcal protein A and the related protein ZSPA-1, belonging to a group of binding proteins denoted affibody molecules generated via combinatorial engineering of the Z domain. Affibody-target protein complexes are good model systems for structural and thermodynamic studies of protein-protein interactions. With the Z:ZSPA-1 pair as a starting point, we determined the solution structure of the complex and carried out a preliminary characterization of ZSPA-1. We found that the complex contains a rather large (ca. 1600 Å2) interaction interface with tight steric and polar/nonpolar complementarity. The structure of ZSPA-1 in the complex is well-ordered in a conformation that is very similar to that of the Z domain. However, the conformation of the free ZSPA-1 is best characterized by comparisons with protein molten globules. It shows a reduced secondary structure content, aggregation propensity, poor thermal stability, and binds the hydrophobic dye ANS. This molten globule state of ZSPA-1 is the native state in the absence of the Z domain, and the ordered state is only adopted following a stabilization that occurs upon binding. A more extensive characterization of ZSPA-1 suggested that the average topology of the Z domain is retained in the molten globule state but that it is represented by a multitude of conformations. Furthermore, the molten globule state is only marginally stable, and a significant fraction of ZSPA-1 exists in a completely unfolded state at room temperature. A complete thermodynamic characterization of the Z:ZSPA-1 pair suggests that the stabilization of the molten globule state to an ordered three helix structure in the complex is associated with a significant conformational entropy penalty that might influence the binding affinity negatively and result in an intermediate-affinity (µM) binding protein. This can be compared to a dissociation constant of 20-70 nM for the complex Z:Fc of IgG where Z uses the same binding surface as in Z:ZSPA-1. Structure analyses of Z in the free and bound state reveal an induced fit response upon complex formation with ZSPA-1 where a conformational change of several side chains in the binding surface increases the accessible surface area with almost 400 Å2 i.e. almost half of the total interaction surface in the complex. Two cysteine residues were introduced at specific positions in ZSPA-1 for five mutants in order to stabilize the conformation of ZSPA-1 by disulfide bridge formation. The mutants were thermodynamically characterized and the binding affinity of one mutant showed an improvement by more than a factor of ten. The improvement of the introduced cysteine bridge correlates with an increase in binding enthalpy rather than with entropy. Further analysis of the binding entropy suggests that the conformational entropy change in fact is reduced but its favorable contribution is opposed by a less favorable desolvation enthalpy change. These studies illustrate the structural and thermodynamic complexity of protein-protein interactions, but also that this complexity can be dissected and understood. In this study, a comprehensive characterization of the ZSPA-1 affibody has gained insight into the intricate mechanisms involved in complex formation. These theories were supported by the design of a ZSPA-1 mutant with improved binding affinity.
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| 6. |
- Wahlberg, Per, et al.
(författare)
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A high-resolution linkage map for the Z chromosome in chicken reveals hot spots for recombination
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. - : S. Karger AG. - 1424-8581 .- 1424-859X. ; 117:1-4, s. 22-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A comprehensive linkage map for chicken chromosome Z was constructed as the result of a large-scale screening of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A total of 308 SNPs were assigned to Z based on the genotype distribution among 182 birds representing several populations. A linkage map comprising 210 markers and spanning 200.9 cM was established by analyzing a small Red junglefowl/White Leghorn intercross. There was excellent agreement between the linkage map for Z and a recently released assembly of the chicken genome (May 2006). Almost all SNPs assigned to chromosome Z in the present study are on Z in the new genome assembly. The remaining 12 loci are all found on unassigned contigs that can now be assigned to Z. The average recombination rate was estimated at 2.7 cM/Mb but there was a very uneven distribution of recombination events with both cold and hot spots of recombination. The existence of one of the major hot spots of recombination, located around position 39.4 Mb, was supported by the observed pattern of linkage disequilibrium. Thirteen markers from unassigned contigs were shown to be located on chromosome W. Three of these contigs included genes that have homologues on chromosome Z. The preliminary assignment of three more genes to the gene-poor W chromosome may be important for studies on the mechanism of sex determination and dosage compensation in birds.
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| 7. |
- Wahlberg, Per, 1975-
(författare)
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Chicken Genomics - Linkage and QTL mapping
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis presents results from genetic studies conducted in the chicken (Gallus gallus). The domestication of chicken is believed to have been initiated approximately 7,000 – 9,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. Since that time, selective breeding has altered the appearance of the wild ancestor, creating highly specialized chicken lines developed for egg and meat production. The first part of this thesis describes a detailed genetic analysis conducted on an F2 intercross between two phenotypically diverse chicken lines. The two parental lines used in this experiment originated from the same base population and have been developed by divergent selection for juvenile body-weight. Selection during forty generations has resulted in an eight-fold difference in body-weight between the High-Weight Selected (HWS) and Low-Weight Selected (LWS) line. In an attempt to identify the genetic factors differentiating the two lines, a large intercross population was bred to map Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) affecting body-weight traits. A linkage map was constructed which included 434 genetic markers covering 31 of the 38 chicken autosomes. Although there is a dramatic phenotypic difference between the two founder lines, the QTL analysis for marginal effect could only identify seven QTL, each with small additive effects, influencing body-weight. We extended the genetic analysis to also include a model testing for pair-wise interactions between loci (epistasis). The analysis revealed 15 QTL pairs that affect body-weight and several of those formed a network of interacting loci. These results suggest that the genetic basis for the large difference in body-weight is most likely a result of a combined effect of multiple genetic factors, including QTL with small additive effects in combination with pair-wise interactions between QTL. The second part of this thesis presents two linkage maps. The first map constructed was of the chicken Z chromosome, the second used a genome-wide marker set, including 12,945 SNP markers, to build an updated consensus map of the chicken genome. The resulting consensus map includes 9,268 genetic markers and covers 33 chromosomes, still leaving five microchromosomes without marker coverage. The genome average rate of recombination was estimated to 3.1 cM/Mb, but varied considerably between and within chromosomes. A general trend of elevated recombination rates towards telomeric ends and lower rates near centromeres was observed. This was in concordance to previous reports from mammalian species. Recombination rates in chicken were also found to be highly positively correlated with GC-rich sequences.
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| 8. |
- Wahlberg, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic analysis of an F2 intercross between two chicken lines divergently selected for body-weight
- 2009
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Ingår i: BMC Genomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2164. ; 10, s. 248-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: We have performed Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis of an F(2) intercross between two chicken lines divergently selected for juvenile body-weight. In a previous study 13 identified loci with effects on body-weight, only explained a small proportion of the large variation in the F(2) population. Epistatic interaction analysis however, indicated that a network of interacting loci with large effect contributed to the difference in body-weight of the parental lines. This previous analysis was, however, based on a sparse microsatellite linkage map and the limited coverage could have affected the main conclusions. Here we present a revised QTL analysis based on a high-density linkage map that provided a more complete coverage of the chicken genome. Furthermore, we utilized genotype data from ~13,000 SNPs to search the genome for potential selective sweeps that have occurred in the selected lines. RESULTS: We constructed a linkage map comprising 434 genetic markers, covering 31 chromosomes but leaving seven microchromosomes uncovered. The analysis showed that seven regions harbor QTL that influence growth. The pair-wise interaction analysis identified 15 unique QTL pairs and notable is that nine of those involved interactions with a locus on chromosome 7, forming a network of interacting loci. The analysis of ~13,000 SNPs showed that a substantial proportion of the genetic variation present in the founder population has been lost in either of the two selected lines since ~60% of the SNPs polymorphic among lines showed fixation in one of the lines. With the current marker coverage and QTL map resolution we did not observe clear signs of selective sweeps within QTL intervals. CONCLUSION: The results from the QTL analysis using the new improved linkage map are to a large extent in concordance with our previous analysis of this pedigree. The difference in body-weight between the parental chicken lines is caused by many QTL each with a small individual effect. Although the increased chromosomal marker coverage did not lead to the identification of additional QTL, we were able to refine the localization of QTL. The importance of epistatic interaction as a mechanism contributing significantly to the remarkable selection response was further strengthened because additional pairs of interacting loci were detected with the improved map.
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