Objective
Genetic maps of poultry provide a tool for identification and exploitation of genes of economic importance. Genetic mapping is used to scan an entire genome for regions that control these quantitative traits. In QTL mapping the inheritance of all sections of a genome must be traceable and consequently, markers evenly spaced throughout the entire genome are required. Once QTL are mapped the next phase is to identify the genes within the QTL that control the trait. One strategy for trait-gene identification is "Comparative Positional Candidate Gene Mapping". Homologous genes are mapped in the chicken to enable maps to be aligned with other vertebrates. "Comparative Gene Mapping" allows the prediction of genes in the "gene-poor" maps of poultry from the "gene-rich" maps of man.
The tools and resources to allow efficient exploitation of the information provided by genetic maps is well advanced in the chicken with the development of a number of capabilities within the EC Biotech ChickMAP project. The European Poultry Industry however covers many other avian species besides broiler and layer chicken. For example, Europe is also a world leader in turkey, duck and geese production. Unlike the chicken breeders neither of these industries have access to DNA marker technologies and the opportunities they provide.
The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by developing comparative approaches based on the DNA markers, maps, etc., being developed in the chicken to enable access to genetic information between poultry and other vertebrates.
The specific objectives of the proposed project are: (1) To assess the utility of chicken microsatellite markers in other poultry, (2) To create new single species databases for other poultry species, (3) To develop comparative maps of poultry based on physical maps, (4) To define conserved segments in a chicken-human comparative map, and (5) To work in parallel with European national research projects to map and determine the effects of QTL in specific resource populations.
Genetic maps are a pre-requisite for the mapping of genetic loci that control quantitative traits. QTL maps can be used by the European breeding industry to focus on specific chromosomal regions in which to search for valuable marker-trait associations within commercial breeding lines. Once such QTL have been identified, the markers flanking them can be used in conjunction with classical breeding methods to improve estimates of breeding value and to shorten generation intervals. These benefits can be shared by the entire poultry breeding industry, through comparative gene mapping. For example, the information on the location of genes and QTL in the chicken may be used to predict where such loci will map in the other avian species, e.g. turkey, ducks, geese and quail, using the comparative maps developed within this project.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabases
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsDNA
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsgenomes
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Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
EH25 9PS ROSLIN
United Kingdom