Identification and functional characterization of causal genes affecting feather pecking and aggressive pecking in laying hens

啄羽和同类相食是家禽生产中的严重问题。它们不仅具有负面的经济和环境影响，而且也是一个严重的福利问题。最近的一个项目的目的是获得更深入的了解啄羽的行为学和遗传机制。在该项目中，建立了由约950只F2杂交产蛋鸡组成的大型实验群体，并对广泛的行为性状进行了表型表征。采用相关分析和非参数统计方法对性状间的相关结构进行了研究。此外，对个体进行60K SNP芯片的基因分型，并将这些数据用于全基因组关联分析。几个啄食行为相关的染色体簇进行了鉴定。后续项目旨在深入分析这些染色体簇。总的目的是推导和验证（新的）假设，羽毛啄和攻击性啄行为在蛋鸡的影响这些性状的因果基因的定位和功能分析。有了这些目标，该项目有助于对产蛋鸡啄食行为的遗传解剖，并更好地了解这些异常行为模式的动机。此外，它有助于实现迫切需要的精确动物育种框架的目标，因为啄羽很快将成为蛋鸡育种目标的一个组成部分。

Feather pecking and cannibalism are serious problems poultry production. They have not only negative economic and environmental implications, but also represents a serious welfare problem. The aims of a recent project were to obtain a deeper understanding of ethological and genetic mechanisms of feather pecking. In that project a large experimental population consisting of about 950 F2-cross laying hens was established and characterized phenotypically for a wide range of behavior traits. The trait interrelation structure was investigated by correlation analyses as well as non-parametric statistics. In addition, the individuals were genotyped for a 60K SNP-chip and these data were used for genome-wide association analyses. Several pecking behavior associated chromosomal clusters were identified. The follow-on project is designed as an in-depth analysis of these chromosomal clusters. The overall aim is to derive and validate (novel) hypotheses with regard to feather pecking and aggressive pecking behavior in laying hens by means of mapping and functional analyses of causal genes affecting these traits. With these aims the project contributes to the genetic dissection of pecking behavior in laying hens and to a better understanding of the motivation for these abnormal behavior patterns. Further, it contributes to the goals of the precision animal breeding framework, which is urgently needed, because feather pecking will be an integral part of laying hen breeding goals soon.