Dataset Information

Genomic Analyses of Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) Domestication in West Africa.

ABSTRACT: Domestication of the helmeted guinea fowl (HGF; Numida meleagris) in Africa remains elusive. Here we report a high-quality de novo genome assembly for domestic HGF generated by long- and short-reads sequencing together with optical and chromatin interaction mapping. Using this assembly as the reference, we performed population genomic analyses for newly sequenced whole-genomes for 129 birds from Africa, Asia, and Europe, including domestic animals (n = 89), wild progenitors (n = 34), and their closely related wild species (n = 6). Our results reveal domestication of HGF in West Africa around 1,300-5,500 years ago. Scanning for selective signals characterized the functional genes in behavior and locomotion changes involved in domestication of HGF. The pleiotropy and linkage in genes affecting plumage color and fertility were revealed in the recent breeding of Italian domestic HGF. In addition to presenting a missing piece to the jigsaw puzzle of domestication in poultry, our study provides valuable genetic resources for researchers and breeders to improve production in this species.

SUBMITTER: Shen QK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8214406 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Genomic Analyses of Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) Domestication in West Africa.

Shen Quan-Kuan QK Peng Min-Sheng MS Adeola Adeniyi C AC Kui Ling L Duan Shengchang S Miao Yong-Wang YW Eltayeb Nada M NM Lichoti Jacqueline K JK Otecko Newton O NO Strillacci Maria Giuseppina MG Gorla Erica E Bagnato Alessandro A Charles Olaogun S OS Sanke Oscar J OJ Dawuda Philip M PM Okeyoyin Agboola O AO Musina John J Njoroge Peter P Agwanda Bernard B Kusza Szilvia S Nanaei Hojjat Asadollahpour HA Pedar Rana R Xu Ming-Min MM Du Yuan Y Nneji Lotanna M LM Murphy Robert W RW Wang Ming-Shan MS Esmailizadeh Ali A Dong Yang Y Ommeh Sheila C SC Zhang Ya-Ping YP

Genome biology and evolution 20210601 6

Domestication of the helmeted guinea fowl (HGF; Numida meleagris) in Africa remains elusive. Here we report a high-quality de novo genome assembly for domestic HGF generated by long- and short-reads sequencing together with optical and chromatin interaction mapping. Using this assembly as the reference, we performed population genomic analyses for newly sequenced whole-genomes for 129 birds from Africa, Asia, and Europe, including domestic animals (n = 89), wild progenitors (n = 34), and their c ...[more]

PMID: 34009300

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Project description:This study was conducted to characterise phenotypically helmeted Guinea fowls in three agro-ecologies in Nigeria using multivariate approach. Eighteen biometric characters, four morphological indices and eleven qualitative physical traits were investigated in a total of 569 adult birds (158 males and 411 females). Descriptive statistics, non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis H test followed by the Mann-Whitney U and Dunn-Bonferroni tests for post hoc, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), Univariate Analysis, Canonical Discriminant Analysis, Categorical Principal Component Analysis and Decision Trees were employed to discern the effects of agro-ecological zone and sex on the morphostructural parameters. Agro-ecology had significant effect (P<0.05; P<0.01) on all the colour traits. In general, the most frequently observed colour phenotype of Guinea fowl had pearl plumage colour (54.0%), pale red skin colour (94.2%), black shank colour (68.7%), brown eye colour (49.7%), white earlobe colour (54.8%) and brown helmet colour (72.6%). The frequencies of helmet shape and wattle size were significantly influenced (P<0.01) by agro-ecology and sex. Overall, birds from the Southern Guinea Savanna zone had significantly higher values (P<0.05) for most biometric traits compared to their Sudano-Sahelian and Tropical Rainforest counterparts. They were also more compact (120.00 vs. 110.00 vs. 107.69) but had lesser condition index (7.66 vs. 9.45 vs. 9.30) and lower long-leggedness (19.71 vs. 19.23 vs. 9.51) than their counterparts from the two other zones. Sexual dimorphism (P<0.05) was in favour of male birds especially those in Southern Guinea Savanna and Sudano-Sahelian zones. However, the MCA and discriminant analysis revealed considerable intermingling of the qualitative physical traits, biometric traits and body indices especially between the Sudano-Sahelian and Tropical Rainforest birds. In spite of the high level of genetic admixture, the Guinea fowl populations could to a relative extent be distinguished using wing length, body length and eye colour. Generally, the birds from the three zones appeared to be more homogeneous than heterogeneous in nature. However, further complementary work on genomics will guide future selection and breeding programs geared towards improving the productivity, survival and environmental adaptation of indigenous helmeted Guinea fowls in the tropics.

Dataset Information

Genomic Analyses of Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) Domestication in West Africa.

Publications

Genomic Analyses of Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Numida meleagris) Domestication in West Africa.

Similar Datasets

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