ABSTRACT

1. Egg-laying traits are important economic characteristics in goose production (Anser cygnoides). The gene GnRH, which encodes gonadotropin-releasing hormone, is a strong candidate gene for egg-laying traits in avian species.

2. In this study, a 3520 bp genomic sequence and a 279 bp mRNA sequence for GnRH, which encoded 92 amino acids, were determined. The GnRH DNA sequence contains four exons and three introns, and the DNA and deduced amino acid sequences were highly conserved across mammals (human, macaque, cow, and sheep) and avians (chicken, fulmar and quail).

3. Using a direct sequencing method, 46 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the GnRH genomic sequence that were shared between two Sichuan White goose populations (217 and 208 individuals). Furthermore, 44 haplotypes were constructed using a sliding window approach. Association analysis between the SNPs and haplotypes and egg-laying traits showed that 10 SNPs affected the first egg weight, average egg weight, egg number at 48 weeks and egg number at 64 weeks.

4. These results lay the foundation for further studies of the function of GnRH in geese and provide a theoretical basis for marker-assisted selection of egg-laying traits in the Sichuan white goose population.

摘要

1.产蛋性状是鹅生产中重要的经济特征（Anser cygnoides）。编码促性腺激素释放激素的基因GnRH是禽类中产卵性状的强大候选基因。

2.在这项研究中，确定了编码92个氨基酸的GnRH的3520 bp基因组序列和279 bp mRNA序列。的GnRH的DNA序列包含四个外显子和3个内含子，以及DNA和推导的氨基酸序列跨越哺乳动物（人，猕猴，牛，和绵羊）和禽类（鸡，鹱和鹌鹑）的高度保守的。

3.使用直接测序方法，在两个四川白鹅种群（217和208个人）之间共享的GnRH基因组序列中鉴定出46个单核苷酸多态性（SNP ）。此外，使用滑动窗方法构建了44个单倍型。SNP与单倍型和产卵性状之间的关联分析表明，有10个SNP影响第一卵重，平均卵重，48周卵数和64周卵数。

4.这些结果为进一步研究GnRH在鹅中的功能奠定了基础，并为标记辅助选择四川白鹅种群的产卵性状提供了理论基础。