Identification of differentially expressed genes in ovaries of chicken attaining sexual maturity at different ages

In poultry as well as in other birds, sexual maturity is one of the important factors influencing female reproduction and egg production. In this study, cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) differential display approach was used to identify genes related to sexual maturity. Using 54 EcoR I/Mse I selective primer combinations, totally 403 differentially expressed transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) were isolated, 27 of which belong to 25 unigenes. By real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), the expression pattern of 13 genes was confirmed; among them, four genes including ZNF183 (P < 0.01), KIAA0700, CCT6A, and 23e 15 (P < 0.05) are significantly up-regulated and one gene (Loc418883) is significantly down-regulated (P < 0.01) in sexually mature ovaries compared to immature ones. The mRNA expression dynamics of ZNF183, CCT6A, 23e 15 and Loc418883 were further investigated in ovaries of 70-, 300- and 500-day-old commercial egg-laying hens: the expression level of CCT6A was the highest in 300-day-old hens (P < 0.05), while that of Loc418883 in 500-day-old hens was significantly higher than the other two stages (P < 0.01). The expression levels of ZNF183 and 23e 15 in ovary increase significantly from 70-day-old hens (P < 0.01) and 300-day-old (P < 0.05) to 500-day-old hens, respectively. The consistence of CCT6A expression and egg-laying performance suggests that CCT6A likely plays important role in sexual maturity in hens.