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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #143999
Title: SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN RECEPTOR TYPE II MRNAS FROM ASCITIC AND NON-ASCITIC COMMERCIAL BROILERS

Author
item Cisar, Cindy
item Balog, Janice
item ANTHONY, NICHOLAS - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item Donoghue, Ann - Annie

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/25/2003
Publication Date: 10/1/2003
Citation: CISAR, C.R., BALOG, J.M., ANTHONY, N., DONOGHUE, A.M. SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN RECEPTOR TYPE II MRNAS FROM ASCITIC AND NON-ASCITIC COMMERCIAL BROILERS. POULTRY SCIENCE. 2003. V. 82. P. 1494-1499.

Interpretive Summary: Ascites syndrome, also known as pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS), is a common disease in chickens. The gene or genes that are responsible for PHS susceptibility in chickens have not yet been identified. The human disease familial primary pulmonary hypertension (FPPH) is very similar to PHS in chickens. Recently it was shown that FPPH in humans is caused by mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR2) gene. This gene is a very important gene that controls growth and development of many different cells and tissue types. To determine whether similar mutations in the chicken BMPR2 gene also cause susceptibility to PHS, BMPR2 genes from ascitic and non-ascitic chickens were sequenced. Fourteen changes in DNA sequence were identified in these chickens. However, none of these changes altered the BMPR-II protein or altered expression of the BMPR2 gene. Therefore, it does not appear that mutations in the BMPR2 gene are the cause of PHS susceptibility in chickens.

Technical Abstract: Ascites syndrome in broilers, also known as pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS), is a common metabolic disorder in these rapidly growing meat-type chickens. Environmental factors, such as cold, altitude and diet, play critical roles in development of the disease, but there is also an important genetic component to PHS susceptibility. The human disease familial primary pulmonary hypertension (FPPH) is similar to PHS in broilers both genetically and physiologically. Several studies have recently shown that FPPH in humans is caused by mutations in the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR2) gene. To determine whether mutations in the chicken BMPR2 gene play a similar role in PHS susceptibility, BMPR-II mRNAs from ascitic and non-ascitic commercial broilers were sequenced and compared to the published Leghorn chicken BMPR2 gene. Fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the commercial broiler BMPR-II mRNAs. No mutations unique to ascitic broilers were present in the coding, 5' untranslated, or 3' untranslated regions of BMPR-II mRNA. The twelve SNPs present within the coding region of BMPR-II mRNA are synonymous substitutions and do not alter the BMPR-II protein sequence. These data indicate that mutations in the BMPR2 gene are probably not responsible for susceptibility to PHS in broilers.