Cited by 86Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestockGenetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and AnimalsEvolution and Genetic Dynamics

Positive selection rather than relaxation of functional constraint drives the evolution of vision during chicken domestication

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Wang, Ming-Shan, Zhang, Rong-wei, Su, Ling-Yan, Li, Yan, Peng, Min-Sheng, Liu, He-Qun, Zeng, Lin, Irwin, David M +4 more·2016·Cell Research

Abstract

As noted by Darwin, chickens have the greatest phenotypic diversity of all birds, but an interesting evolutionary difference between domestic chickens and their wild ancestor, the Red Junglefowl, is their comparatively weaker vision. Existing theories suggest that diminished visual prowess among domestic chickens reflect changes driven by the relaxation of functional constraints on vision, but the evidence identifying the underlying genetic mechanisms responsible for this change has not been definitively characterized. Here, a genome-wide analysis of the domestic chicken and Red Junglefowl genomes showed significant enrichment for positively selected genes involved in the development of vision. There were significant differences between domestic chickens and their wild ancestors regarding the level of mRNA expression for these genes in the retina. Numerous additional genes involved in the development of vision also showed significant differences in mRNA expression between domestic chickens and their wild ancestors, particularly for genes associated with phototransduction and photoreceptor development, such as RHO (rhodopsin), GUCA1A, PDE6B and NR2E3. Finally, we characterized the potential role of the VIT gene in vision, which experienced positive selection and downregulated expression in the retina of the village chicken. Overall, our results suggest that positive selection, rather than relaxation of purifying selection, contributed to the evolution of vision in domestic chickens. The progenitors of domestic chickens harboring weaker vision may have showed a reduced fear response and vigilance, making them easier to be unconsciously selected and/or domesticated.

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  • GRIA4's role implies additional roles in visual deterioration involved in domestication.

    “implying additional roles in visual deterioration involved in domestication (Wang et al. 2016).”

    From Genomic Analyses Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (<i>Numida meleagris</i>) Domestication in West Africa (2021) · cites this paper as Wang et al. 2016

    The Introduction (page not provided) describes reduced visual ability in domestic chickens, and the Results link several vision-related genes to domestication. But our copy does not identify GRIA4 or establish a role for it in that visual deterioration; a search for GRIA4 found no matching passage. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Wang, M.-S., Zhang, R.-W., Su, L.-Y., Li, Y., Peng, M.-S., Liu, H.-Q., Zeng, L., Irwin, D. M., Du, J.-L., Yao, Y.-G., Wu, D.-D., & Zhang, Y.-P.
Affiliations
  • Kunming Institute of Zoology (CN)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Yunnan University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Wu, Dong-Dong
  • Zhang, Ya-Ping
Venue
Cell Research
Published
2016-04-01
Volume
26
Issue
5
Pages
556-573
ISSN
  • 1001-0602 (ISSN-L)
  • 1748-7838
OpenAlex
W2326987789
Cited by
85
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
FWCI
4.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (91331104)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB13000000, 2013CB835204, 2013CB835200)
  • Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB13000000)
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2013CB835200, 2013CB835204, 2013CB835200, 2013CB835204)
  • Youth Innovation Promotion Association
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
Keywords
chicken domestication, evolution of vision, positive selection, purifying selection, red junglefowl, phototransduction, photoreceptor development, rhodopsin, village chickens, fear response, domestication syndrome
MeSH terms
Domestication, Animals, Animals, Domestic, Chickens, Biological Evolution, Poultry, Selection, Genetic, Vision, Ocular, Zebrafish, Genome, Mice, Gene Knockdown Techniques, Morpholinos

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