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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #184465
Title: SEQUENCE AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CHICKEN GENOME PROVIDE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES ON VERTEBRATE EVOLUTION.

Author
item HILLIER, L - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item MILLER, W - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item BIRNEY, E - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item WARREN, W - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item HARDISON, R - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item PONTING, C - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item BORK, P - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item BURT, D - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item GROENEN, M - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM
item RIJNKELS, MONIQUE - GENOME SEQ CONSORTIUM

Submitted to: Nature
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2004
Publication Date: 12/9/2004
Citation: Hillier, L.W., Miller, W., Birney, E., Warren, W., Hardison, R.C., Ponting, C.P., Bork, P., Burt, D.W., Groenen, M.A., Rijnkels, M. 2004. Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provide unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution. Nature. 432:695-716.

Interpretive Summary: A draft sequence of the genome of the chicken (gallus gallus) is presented. It is the first genome of a non-mammalian species, as well as the first agricultural species to be sequenced. The chicken genome sequence was extensively compared to the genome sequences of mammalian species like human and mouse, providing new insights in evolution, gene structure and regulation, and protein function. The sequence and comparative analysis will provide valuable information to agricultural scientists to identify agricultural important genes and biological pathways, as wells as scientists interested in development, immunology, virology and functional genomics, benefiting US poultry industry and human health.

Technical Abstract: We present here a draft genome sequence of the red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus. Because the chicken is a modern descendant of the dinosaurs and the first non-mammalian amniote to have its genome sequenced, the draft sequence of its genome--composed of approximately one billion base pairs of sequence and an estimated 20,000-23,000 genes--provides a new perspective on vertebrate genome evolution, while also improving the annotation of mammalian genomes. For example, the evolutionary distance between chicken and human provides high specificity in detecting functional elements, both non-coding and coding. Notably, many conserved non-coding sequences are far from genes and cannot be assigned to defined functional classes. In coding regions the evolutionary dynamics of protein domains and orthologous groups illustrate processes that distinguish the lineages leading to birds and mammals. The distinctive properties of avian microchromosomes, together with the inferred patterns of conserved synteny, provide additional insights into vertebrate chromosome architecture.