The chicken is an important model organism that bridges the evolutionary gap between mammals and other vertebrates [1]. Research on chickens (Gallus gallus) has had a significant impact on fundamental biology. The domestic chicken also provides a major protein source from meat and eggs for most human populations throughout the world. Its economic importance has made it the focus of numerous research projects, including a recent effort to sequence the entire chicken genome [2].
During the past 80 years, selective breeding has made spectacular progress in both egg and meat production traits. The modern commercial broiler is the product of intensive selection for rapid growth and enhanced muscle mass over many generations. Associated with these successes there have been a number of undesirable traits, such as ascites and lameness, reduced fertility, and reduced resistance to infectious diseases [3]. Selection for rapid growth has been also accompanied by increased fat deposition in these animals [4,5]. Excessive fat is a major problem for the modern broiler industry, since it not only reduces carcass yield and feed efficiency, but also causes rejection of the meat by consumers [6] and difficulties in processing [7].
With the rapid development of molecular biotechnology, various studies have been performed to investigate the metabolic and genetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of fatness in chickens. Because de novo fatty acid synthesis in birds takes place mainly in the liver, most studies have been performed on hepatic tissue. There have been few analyses of the expression of adipose tissue genes involved in pathways and mechanisms leading to adiposity in chickens. In the present study, Chicken Genome Arrays were used to construct the gene expression profiles of 7-week-old broilers, and to screen genes that are differentially expressed in adipose tissue between lean and fat lines divergently selected over eight generations for high and low abdominal fat weight. Our study will be beneficial in clarifying the molecular mechanisms of obesity in chicken, and these data will contribute to related research on other species.
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