Abstract
In birds, downy feather quantity mainly affected by the follicles. Wnt6, a secreted cysteine-rich protein, plays a key role in follicular development as an intercellular signaling molecule. The present study was to investigate the follicle development and Wnt6 polymorphism in Wanxi-white geese, a Chinese indigenous breed. In total, 300 fertilized eggs were hatched. At embryonic stage and on early birth goslings, the diameter and density of follicles from different sites were examined after sectioning and staining. The results showed that the diameter of primary feather follicles in thorax, venter, dorsum and flank had no difference at embryonic stage. In contrast, after birth, thorax and ventral feather follicles had greater diameter than those on dorsum and flank. Similarly, the primary feather follicle density was higher in thorax and venter than in dorsum and flank at embryonic stage. The secondary feather follicle diameter in flank was greater than that in other sites examined. The secondary follicle showed lush growth in E27 with thickest in ventral and thorax. Overall, follicle formed consistently in dorsal and flank, and follicle in thorax and ventral formed in another consistent way. The polymorphism study showed 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms of Wnt6 and 3 genotypes identified. Sequencing revealed two nucleotide transitions, T451C and A466G, which were synonymous mutations causing codons for aspartate and lysine to change from GAU to GAC and from AAA to AAG, respectively. This information about follicle development and Wnt6 polymorphisms would provide potential utilization in marker-assisted selection program for down feather selection.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Championa SC, Robards GE (2000) Follicle characteristics, seasonal changes in fibre cross-sectional area and ellipticity in Australasian specialty carpet wool sheep, Romneys and Merinos. Small Ruminant Res 38:71–82
Hall SJG, Russel AJF, Redden H (1996) Coat fibres of Nigerian sheep and goats: a preliminary characterisation. Small Ruminant Res 22:169–175
Litherland AJ, Toerien C, Sahlu T, Lee P, Goetsch AL (2000) Effects of season on Fleece traits of Angora does in the US. Small Ruminant Res 38:63–70
Tian XD, Xu R, Qin N, Bao Y, Wang Z, Jiang J (2011) Observation and analysis of feather follicle morphology in Rhine Geese. China Poult 33:18–23
Williams AJ, Winston RJ (1987) A study of the characteristics of the wool follicle and fibre in Merino sheep genetically different in wool production. Aust J Agric Res 38:743–755
Wodarz A (1998) Mechanisms of Wnt signaling in development. Ann Rev Cell Dev Biol 14:59–88
Schubert FR, Mootoosamy RC, Walters EH, Graham A, Tumiotto L, Münsterberg AE, Lumsden A, Dietrich S (2002) Wnt6 marks sites of epithelial transformations in the chick embryo. Mech Dev 114:143–148
Chang C, Jiang TX, Lin CM, Burrus LW, Chuong CM, Widelitz R (2004) Distinct Wnt members regulate the hierarchical morphogenesis of skin regions (spinal tract) and individual feathers. Mech Dev 121:157–171
Wu W, Xu RF, Guo X, Li CH, Wu CX (2008) Characterization of embryonic feather follicle development in the Chinese indigenous Jilin White goose. Asian-Aust Ani Sci 21:346–352
Lin CM, Jiang TX, Widelitz RB, Chuong CM (2006) Molecular signaling in feather morphogenesis. Curr Opin Cell Biol 18:730–741
Yu M, Yue Z, Wu P, Wu DY, Mayer J, Medina M, Widelitz RB, Jiang TX, Chuong CM (2004) The developmental biology of feather follicles. Int J Dev Boil 48:181–191
Geetha-Loganathan P, Nimmagadda S, Felicitas P, Patel K, Scaal M, Huang R, Christ B (2005) Ectodermal Wnt-6 promotes Myf5-dependent avian limb myogenesis. Dev Biol 288:221–233
Duan J (2003) Synonymous mutations in the human dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) affect mRNA stability and synthesis of the receptor. Hum Mol Genet 12:205–216
Duan J, Antezana MA (2003) Mammalian mutation pressure, synonymous codon choice, and mRNA degradation. J Mol Evol 57:694–701
Comeron JM (2004) Selective and mutational patterns associated with gene expression in humans: influences on synonymous composition and intron presence. Genetics 167:1293–1304
Lavner Y, Kotlar D (2005) Codon bias as a factor in regulating expression via translation rate in the human genome. Gene 345:127–138
Jiang RS, Xie Z, Chen XY, Geng ZY (2011) A single nucleotide polymorphism in the parathyroid hormone gene and effects on eggshell quality in chickens. Poult Sci 89:2101–2105
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars of the Ahui Agricultural University (2010zd04) and from the National waterfowl industrial system of China (CARS-43-31).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, X., Bai, H., Li, L. et al. Follicle characteristics and follicle developmental related Wnt6 polymorphism in Chinese indigenous Wanxi-white goose. Mol Biol Rep 39, 9843–9848 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-1850-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-1850-2