Feeding conditions and breed affect the level of DNA methylation of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3 gene in chicken breast muscle

• Published in: Journal of animal science 2015-04, Vol.93 (4), p.1522-1534
• Main Authors: Gao, G L, Wang, H W, Zhao, X Z, Li, Qin, Li, J, Li, Q R, Wang, Q G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Chickens - genetics; DNA Methylation; Feeding Methods - veterinary; Ion Channels - genetics; Ion Channels - metabolism; Mitochondrial Proteins - genetics; Mitochondrial Proteins - metabolism; Molecular Sequence Data; Pectoralis Muscles - metabolism; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Sequence Analysis, DNA - veterinary; Species Specificity; Uncoupling Protein 3
• ISSN: 1525-3163
• DOI: 10.2527/jas.2014-8431

To investigate the effects of feed condition and breed on the level of DNA methylation for the uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) gene, which is an important candidate gene for regulating intramuscular fat (IMF) content in chicken breast muscle, breast muscle of Daninghe (DNH) and Qingjiaoma (QJM) chickens under scatter-feed and captivity-feed conditions was analyzed. Using RNA sequencing, 47 and 113 candidate genes were determined to be related to feed conditions and breed, respectively, and 7 differentially expressed genes were confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR, including UCP3. The mRNA levels of UCP3 were significantly different between the 2 feed conditions. The DNA region from bp +1700 to +2459 of the UCP3 gene was studied using the bisulfite sequencing method and contained 46 methylation sites and 3 CpG islands. The results showed that the methylation level of this UCP3 region was lower in DNH chickens (0.77% to 0.88%, P = 0.012) and QJM chickens (0.88% to 0.91%, P = 0.20) under scatter-feed conditions than under captivity-feed conditions. The mean methylation level of UCP3 in DNH chickens was lower than that in QJM chickens under scatter-feed conditions (DNH to QJM, 0.77% to 0.88%, P = 0.007), which suggests that breed affects the mean methylation level of UCP3 under scatter-feed conditions. In summary, our findings suggest that feed condition and breed affect the methylation of UCP3 in chicken breast muscle.