China has a wide variety of indigenous chicken breeds. Most of these local chicken varieties have valuable genetic features. These resources could provide valuable breeding material for the poultry industry in China and even for the rest of the world. Assessment of genetic differences of these important chicken genetic resources is an important prerequisite to establish efficient conservation and utilization. Up to now, several types of genetic variations have been identified across genomes, and the area of genetic variation in the chicken genome seems to be a rapidly growing research topic in China. These research data can also provide additional evidence for our understanding of chicken genome variation, developing molecular markers, and elucidating the association between genetic variations and phenotypes in the future. This chapter reviews the research progress of molecular genetic variation in Chinese native chicken breeds in recent years.
Part of the book: Application of Genetics and Genomics in Poultry Science
Long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) are transcripts greater than 200 nt in length with decreased coding potential and are widespread in all types of biological organisms. lncRNAs can interact with protein, DNA and RNA, respectively, which may participate in the multilevel regulation of transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic modifications. It is well known that lncRNA, which length is single-stranded non-coding RNA molecule, plays crucial roles in animal growth, development, cell proliferation and differentiation, and other life activities. In this research, we review the regulation mechanism and current research status of lncRNAs in chicken economic traits and disease, which would contribute to further understanding the regulatory mechanisms and application of lncRNAs in poultry.
Part of the book: Poultry