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A comprehensive collection of chicken cDNAs
Paul E Boardman1, Juan Sanz-Ezquerro, Ian M Overton
1Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 88, M60 1QD, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Current Biology : CB
|November 26, 2002
Summary
This study generated over 339,000 chicken expressed sequence tags (ESTs) to discover new genes. The research estimates chickens possess around 35,000 genes, significantly advancing avian genomics.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Avian Biology
- Comparative Genomics
Background:
- Birds are crucial in ecology, evolution, and behavior.
- Chickens serve as a model vertebrate for various biological studies.
- Existing chicken genomic resources are limited compared to other model organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) project for gene discovery in chickens.
- To expand the genomic resources available for chicken research.
- To estimate the total number of genes in the chicken genome.
Main Methods:
- Sequencing 339,314 ESTs from 64 cDNA libraries across 21 tissue types.
- Clustering and assembling ESTs into 85,486 contiguous sequences (contigs).
- Comparing contigs with known genes and orthologs in other species.
Main Results:
- Identified at least 38% of contigs with orthologs in other organisms.
- Estimated an upper limit of 13,000 novel chicken genes.
- Determined that 30% of contigs contain start codons and 20% are full-length cDNAs.
- Estimated a total of approximately 35,000 chicken genes.
Conclusions:
- The chicken genome is more complex than previously estimated from available cDNA sequences.
- The gene count suggests a potentially conserved feature among vertebrates.
- This EST dataset significantly enhances avian genomic resources for future research.