Genomics for reproduction in Anas platyrynchos-a novel report

Anas platyrynchos (ducks) are reared mostly for egg, which are very nutritious, that fetch better prices, however duck meat possess rich nutrient content. They possess the unique characteristics of disease resistance to the common avian diseases, even asymptomatic to avian influenza, with a scopeto evolve as one of the best poultry species The major limitation encountered is the lowered average egg production as well as higher age at first egg (an indicator for sexual maturity) for the indigenous ducks compared to that of exotic ones. In this current study, we attempt to explore the genes responsible for duck reproduction in terms of sexual maturity,egg production and fertility of the ducks. We had compared the genomic constitution for the Bengal duck with highest egg production with that of non-layer (infertile or sexually immature) ducks. We characterized the genes in indigenous ducks from ovarian tissues, identified important domains for characterized genes for the first time, and studied differential mRNA expression profiling for these genes with respect to layer and non-layer groups. Upregulation was observed for ESR2, DIAPH2, KMT2E, ASCF2 genes for Bengal duck in highest egg producing duck in comparison to non-layer duck, whereas downregulation was observed for KSR1, A2M, BMPR1B, ACVR1. In the next step, we explored the association with the genes which were actually responsible for egg production. Thus, duck may be utilized as a model for studying the molecular aspect of reproduction. Genes upregulated may be utilized for knock in of gene, whereas down regulated genes may be knocked out or knocked down through gene editing technologies for the improvement of reproductive performance of the duck in future. Molecular biomarkers may be developed with these genes for early selection of better reproducing ducks at day of hatch or even earlier.