NC1170: Advanced Technologies for the Genetic Improvement of Poultry

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Active

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[03/04/2024] [02/12/2025]

Date of Annual Report: 03/04/2024

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/13/2024 - 01/14/2024
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2023 - 12/31/2023

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

NC1170 business meeting minutes

Technical Committee Attendees: Douglas Rhoads, Susan Lamont, Kent Reed, Carl Schmidt, Huaijun Zhou, Fiona McCarthy, Bindu Nanduri, Yvonne Drechsler, Adnan Alrubaye, Tom Porter, Androniki Psifidi, Tae Kim, Gale Strasburg, Roger Sunde, Sammy Aggrey.

Other: Janet Fulton, Travis Williams

9.30 AM Call meeting to order

9.30 AM Adnan Alrubaye welcomes participants, announcing chair Yvonne Drechsler for next year

9.31 AM Susan Lamont:

Overview of NC1170 as coordinator/advisor. NC1170 was renewed for 5 years, and this is first meeting. Documentation of collaboration across stations needed in reports. Email will be sent out for collaborative work. Technical committee reports are to be sent out in advance to be able to engage at meeting. Annual report is due 60 days after meeting.

Two opportunities for awards: Feb 1^st and Feb 28^th. Project award, 15k (Feb 28). Ag innovation award for excellence in multi-state research. Individual award for scientist in multi-state project. Active researcher, employed by land grant university, active research. (Feb 1). Asking for nomination, email Sue Lamont.

9.45 AM Motion to keep NC1170 at PAG, voted to approve, no oppose

9.47 AM Huaijun Zhou nominated Tae Kim as secretary, seconded by Bindu Nanduri, voted to approve, no oppose

9.49 AM Discussion about finances for supporting more student participation at the NC1170 meeting, such as USDA conference grants for students/postdocs. Problem is USDA only gives to one project, so would have to coordinate with other species. Maybe through NRSP8. Specific education grants?

Expand members, reach out to people NC1170. Pending application (James Koltes) Research Coordination Network, might be able to fund students too, Animal Breeding and Genetics. Other options: Trust travel grants, PSA, funds student travel. WPSA. Sponsorship

Look into satellite meeting, have the meeting at PSA? Encourage more genetics researchers to participate at PSA, write a proposal to coordinate a symposium.

Angelica van Goor brought up how to advise new funded PIs to join a multi state. (go on NIMSS and familiarize)

Also, PD meeting is at PAG every year.

Tom Porter will ask for travel support at PSA

10.20 AM Meeting adjouned

Accomplishments

Yvonne Drechsler,Western University of Health Sciences,  Fiona McCarthy, University of Arizona; Wesley Warren, University of Missouri. Immunoglobulin-like receptors were identified and characterized in B2 vs B19 macrophages. Immune cell atlas was further annotated to identify novel and rare subpopulations of immune cells in the chicken. PAG30: Poultry Workshop. Participated in NC1170 workshop as co-chair/secretary PAG30: Poultry Workshop: Wesley C. Warren, Edward Ricemeyer, Ashley Meyer, Elaina Sculley, Christine G Elsik, Susan J. Lamont, Yvonne Drechsler, Melissa S. Monson, Cari J. Hearn, Hans H. Cheng. Progress toward an immune cell atlas in the chicken. Fiona McCarthy AZ, Abasht, Behnam - UDEL, Schmidt, Carl J - UDEL, Sunde, Roger A - WI, Drechsler, Yvonne - Western University of Health Sciences, Miller, Marcia - City of Hope Beckman Research Institute (former member). Participated in the NC1170 annual meeting, held as part of the Poultry Workshop at the Plant & Animal Genome Conference held in San Diego, 13-18 January 2023. Gale Strassburg, MSU; Kent Reed MN. Work is in progress to analyze changes in gene expression (MN) and metabolites (MSU) in breast muscle from turkey hatchlings exposed to heat stress or cold stress in comparison to that of standard industry conditions.  Our research groups meet periodically throughout the year on Zoom to discuss progress. Reed is a project co-director on our USDA project: Turkey Breast Muscle Development: The Biological Response to Thermal Challenge in Production Birds. Project Director: Strasburg, G.M.; Project Co-Directors: Jones, A.D., Velleman, S.V., Reed, K.M.  USDA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture. June 1, 2020 – May 31, 2024. Award Number: 2020-67015-30827. Award Amount: $500,000. Douglas Rhoads, Carl Schmidt (DE), Adnan Alrubaye (AR). Whole Genome Resequencing in Broilers to Map the Genetics for Resistance to Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis Leading to Lameness. Cobb-Vantress, Inc.; 1/2022-12/2023; $54,735; PI- Alrubaye; coPI: Rhoads, Pummill. Genomic markers for distinguishing pathogenic Enterococcus cecorum in a broiler lameness epidemic model system. Arkansas Biosciences Institute; 7/2022-5/2023; $33792; PI; Rhoads; coPIs: Alrubaye, Pummill. Advancing Molecular Research Using Droplet Digital PCR. Arkansas Biosciences Institute; 7/2022-5/2023; $125,010; PI- Zhang; coPIs Qian, Wang, Savin, Rhoads, Srivastava, Zhao, Nelson, Du, Alrubaye, Kumar. Developing a Multispecies Bacterial Vaccine for protection against Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis Lameness for broilers. US Poultry and Egg Association; 1/2023-6/2024; $79363; PI-Alrubaye; co PI- Jesudhasan, Rhoads. Further Evaluate Herbonis Feed Additives for protection against lameness and improving the well-being of broilers in a lameness challenge model. Nuproxa Switzerland; 1/2023-12/31/2024; 72,729; PI-Alrubaye; coPI- Rhoads Susan Lamont (IA) Behnam Abasht (DE); Carl Schmidt (DE); Huaijun Zhou (UCD); Hans Cheng (ADOL). Genes, pathways and genomic regions associated with important biological traits in chickens were identified. Unique research populations of chickens were maintained for current and future scientific studies at Iowa State University and elsewhere. Biological materials (chicks, fertile eggs, DNA) were shared for collaborative research on epigenetics, disease resistance and biodiversity. Organized Animal Genomics and Climate Change Workshop at Plant and Animal Genome conference, Jan 2024. Organized Words of Wisdom workshop at International Society of Animal Genetics, July 2023  Roger A Sunde, WI. Collaborators in NC-1170: Kent Reed (MN). Periodic consultant in NC-1170: Fiona McCarthy (AZ). Under NC1170 in collaboration with Kent Reed and Kristelle Mendoza at the U. Minnesota we conducted RNA seq studies in turkeys fed graded levels of selenium (Se) to show that adaptation to high Se is not accomplished by transcription regulation. Prior to this work, with help from Fiona McCarthy at the U. Arizona, we cloned the full selenotranscriptome of the turkey. Using this RNA seq data, we conducted Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) because it evaluates transcript expression data at the level of gene sets to detect changes in pathways and biological processes that are coordinated at a more subtle level than found by differential expression analysis of individual genes. Analysis of the turkey poult data set also found no gene sets that were consistently altered by high-Se and supernutritional-Se. Cross-species GSEA comparison of transcript expression in turkeys vs. rats fed graded levels of dietary Se also identified no common gene sets significantly and consistently regulated by high Se in rats and turkeys.

Publications

Sparling BA, Ng TT, Carlo-Allende A, McCarthy FM, Taylor RL Jr, Drechsler Y: Immunoglobulin-like Receptors in Chickens: identification, functional characterization, and renaming to Cluster Homolog of Immunoglobulin-like Receptors. Poultry Science Volume 103, Issue 2, 2024. Schmidt CJ, Kim DK, Pendarvis GK, Abasht B, McCarthy FM. Proteomic insight into human directed selection of the domesticated chicken Gallus gallus. PLoS One. 2023 Aug 7;18(8):e0289648. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289648. Rhoads, D.D., N.S. Ekesi, A.A.K. Alrubaye, J. Pummill (2023) Horizontal transfer of a probable chicken-pathogenicity mobile genetic element from Staphylococcus aureus to Staphylococcus agnetis. PLoS One 18: e0283914. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283914 Pritchett, E.,M., Van Goor, A., Schneider,  B.K., Young, M., Lamont, S.J., Schmidt, C.K. 2023. Chicken pituitary transcriptomic responses to acute heat stress. Mol. Biol. Rep. doi.org/10.1007/s11033-023-08464-8 Warren, W.C., Rice, E.S., Meyer, A., Hearn, C.J., Steep, A., Hunt, H.D., Monson, M.S., Lamont, S.J., Cheng, H.H. 2023. The immune cell landscape and response of Marek’s disease resistant and susceptible chickens infected with Marek’s disease virus. Scientific Rep. 13:5355. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32308-x  Wang, Y., Saelao, P., Kern, C., Zhao, B., Gallardo, R.A., Kelly, T., Dekkers, J.M., Lamont, S.J., Zhou, H. 2023. Distinct hypothalamus and breast muscle transcriptomic response to heat stress under Newcastle Disease virus infection.  Cytogenet. Genome Res. DOI.org/10.1159/000529376  Smith J., Alfieri, J.M., Anthony, N., Arensburger, P., Athrey, G.N., Balacco, J., Balic, A., Bardou, P., Barela, P., Bigot, Y., Blackmon, H., Borodin, P.M., Rachel Carroll, R., Casono, M.C., Charles, M., Cheng, H., Chiodi, M., Cigan, L., Coghill, L.M., Crooijmans, R., Neelabja Das, N., Davey, S., Davidian, A., Degalez, F., Dekkers, J.M., Derks, M., Diack, A.B., Djikeng, A., Drechsler, Y., Dyomin, A., Fedrigo, O., Fiddaman, S.R., Giulio Formenti, G., Frantz, L.A.F., Fulton, J.E., Gaginskaya, E., Galkina, S., Gallardo, R.A., Geibel, J., Gheyas, A., Godinez, C.J.P., Goodell, A., Graves, J.A.M., Griffin, D.K., Haase, B., Han, J.-L., Hanotte, O., Henderson, L.J., Hou, Z.-C., Howe, K., Huynh, L., Ilatsia, E., Jarvis, E., Johnson, S.M., Kaufman, J., Kelly, T., Kemp, S., Kern, C., Keroack, J.H., Klopp, C., Lagarrigue, S., Lamont, S.J., Lange, M., Lanke, A., Larkin, D., Larson, G., Layos, J.K.N., Lebrasseur, O., Malinovskaya, L.P., Martin, R.J., Martin Cerezo, M.L., Mason, A.S., McCarthy, F.M., McGrew, M.J., Mountcastle, J., Kamidi Muhonja, C., Muir, W., Muret, K.,  Murphy, T., Ng’ang’a, I., Nishibori, M., O’Connor, R.E., Ogugo, M., Okimoto, R., Ouko, O., Patel, H.R., Perini, F., María Pigozzi, M., Potter, K.C., Price, P.D., Reimer, C., Rice, E.S., Rocos, N., Rogers, T.F., Saelao, P., Schauer, J., Schnabel, R., Schneider, V., Simianer, H., Smith, A., Stevens, M.P., Stiers, K., Keambou Tiambo, C., Tixier-Boichard, M., Torgasheva, A.A., Tracey, A., Tregaskes, C.A., Vervelde, L., Wang, Y., Warren, W.C., Waters, P., Webb, D., Weigend, S., Wolc, A., Wright, A.E., Wright, D., Wu, Z., Yamagata, M., Yang, C., Yin, Z.-T., Young, M.C., Zhang, G., Zhao, B., Zhou, H.  2023. Fourth Report on Chicken Genes and Chromosomes 2022. Cytogenet. Genome Res. 162:405–527. DOI.org/10.1159/000529376 Reed KM, Mendoza KM, Kono T, Powell AA, Strasburg GM, Velleman SG. Expression of miRNAs in turkey muscle satellite cells and differential response to thermal challenge. Front Physiol. 2023 Nov 23;14:1293264. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1293264.  Xu J, Strasburg GM, Reed KM, Bello NM, Velleman SG. Differential effects of temperature and mTOR and Wnt-planar cell polarity pathways on syndecan-4 and CD44 expression in growth-selected turkey satellite cell populations. PLoS One. 2023 Feb 3;18(2):e0281350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281350.. Bierla K, Szpunar J, Lobinski R, Sunde RA. Effect of graded levels of selenium supplementation as selenite on expression of selenosugars, selenocysteine, and other selenometabolites in rat liver. Metallomics 2023;15:mfad066. PMID: 37898555 Bierla K, Szpunar J, Lobinski R, Sunde RA. Selenomethionine supplementation and expression of selenosugars, selenocysteine, and other selenometabolites in rat liver. Metallomics 2023;15:mfad067. PMID: 37898557

Impact Statements

Yvonne Drechsler The impact of our collaborative work is the characterization and annotation of immune cells and immunoglobulin-like receptors in the chicken genome that contribute better understand underlying mechanisms of disease resistance and susceptibility. This will lead to enhanced breeding strategies. Fiona McCarthy: With the expertise provided by these collaborators, we improved standardized naming for poultry genes, most notably for approx. 300 genes associated with immune response to infection. This work is distributed to international, online resources which are used by poultry researchers to more easily understand their results and translate their findings into gains for the poultry industry. Douglas Rhoads: Understanding the genomes of bacterial pathogens of chickens will help us develop management strategies for reducing infections without resorting to antibiotics. Susan Lamont: Using specialized research lines of chickens, the gene expression response of various tissues to heat stress alone, or to Newcastle disease virus infection under heat stress was characterized. Response of single immune cell types to Marek’s disease virus was defined. Gale Strasburg: Extreme weather variations associated with climate change pose a serious threat to the poultry industry’s ability to maintain consistent, low-fat, high-quality meat products. Our research is focused on developing a deeper understanding of the physiological response of turkeys to temperature extremes to improve breeding and management strategies that mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change while assuring delivery of high quality poultry products to consumers Roger Sunde: Results from these NC1170 studies were used in 2022 to report the dietary Se requirements in turkeys and chickens, and to compare these requirements across animal species including humans, other domestic animals, and rodents. These results were presented in 2022 in a comprehensive review..

Date of Annual Report: 02/12/2025

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 01/11/2025 - 01/12/2025
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2024 - 12/31/2024

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Attendees:

Technical Committee: Giridhar Athrey, Jack Dekkers, Yvonne Drechsler, Tae Hyun Kim, Susan J. Lamont, Fiona McCarthy, Tom E. Porter, Androniki Psifidi, Kent Reed, Douglas Rhoads, Jiuzhou Song, Roger A. Sunde, Hui Yu, Huaijun Zhou

Other: Travis Williams

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order by Yvonne Drechsler at 9:08 am.

Administrative Advisor Update (Sue Lamont):

It is important to include a short impact statement in each station’s technical report.

The governance term for officers (chair, secretary) has been changed from two years to one year, now that there is no NRSP8 poultry officer to participate in workshop organization

Membership updates (e.g., members who have moved positions or retired) should be communicated by their experiment station administrators and then will be updated by the North Central Regional Association office. There are currently some non-active members.

Old Business (Yvonne Drechsler):

Reminder: Station reports should be circulated through NIMSS to the Technical Committee members before the meeting. Members are encouraged to submit their reports as early as possible.

New Business (Yvonne Drechsler):

Next Year's Chair: Tae Hyun Kim was announced as the next chair.

Next Secretary Vote: Fiona McCarthy nominated Jiuzhou Song for secretary. Tom E. Porter seconded the nomination. The motion was approved with no opposing votes.

Discussion of Next Year's Meeting: Alternatives to holding the 2026 meeting in conjunction with the PAG (Plant and Animal Genome) meeting were discussed, including the Annual Poultry Science Association (PSA) meeting.

PSA Meeting Pros: Could promote membership and attendance of a broader poultry research community that could utilize ‘Advanced Technologies’ from NC1170; lower meeting attendance cost compared to PAG; genuine interest exists in bridging the genetics community and the general poultry science community.

PSA Meeting Cons: The PSA program is already set; a separate session or symposium would need to be organized (a symposium would require manuscript obligations); only one Technical Committee meeting is authorized per federal fiscal year, meaning the next meeting would be in the summer of 2026.

Decision: After discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and passed to hold next year’s NC1170 meeting and poultry workshop at PAG2026. The decision to move the meeting location will be made in 2026. Tom Porter will contact PSA leadership regarding future collaboration.

Student Travel Support for 2026 Poultry Workshop: The following options for student travel support were discussed:

USDA conference grant

Research Coordination Network

PSA support (Note: PSA membership must be current to take advantage of this support. Several members missed out on opportunities this year due to lapsed memberships. Members should ensure their PSA memberships are up-to-date.)

Industry support

NC1170 Visibility: Participation in the National Poultry Breeder’s Roundtable was encouraged to increase the visibility of NC1170.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:08 am.

Accomplishments

Gene Nomenclature and Bioinformatics: Researchers at the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station, led by Fiona McCarthy, focused on improving chicken gene nomenclature.  They standardized gene names for 288 gene records and assigned informative names to previously uncharacterized genes.  These genes include 47 Scavenger Receptors, 46 Histidine triad nucleotide-binding proteins, 59 G2E3/PHF7 novel male germline factors, 79 novel ITPRIP genes, 90 protocadherin genes, and 56 nucleoporins.  This work involved collaboration with seven undergraduate students from the University of Arizona and researchers from Western University of Health Sciences, West Virginia University, Hy-Line International, NCBI, and the University of Cambridge.    Adnan Alrubaye and Doug Rhoads, within the Arkansas station, continued to collaborate on lameness and other bacterial diseases affecting the broiler industry.  The main goal was to develop mitigation measures to reduce BCO lameness in broiler chickens.  Rhoads collaborated with station members in Delaware and Mississippi on bioinformatics of bacterial pathogen genomes.      Disease Resistance and Immunity: Iowa State University, led by Sue  Lamont and Jack Dekkers, maintained eight unique chicken genetic research lines.  These lines include highly inbred lines, MHC-congenic pairs of lines, a closed broiler population, and an advanced intercross line.  They collaborated with UC-Davis and Sokoine University in Tanzania to evaluate egg production and egg quality for indigenous chicken ecotypes.  They also conducted research on avian influenza-induced gene expression in diverse chicken lines.      Researchers led by Yvonne Drechsler focused on generating transcriptome and genome annotation data from 20 tissues.  They also conducted variant calling and allele-specific expression (ASE) analysis, identifying thousands of significant ASE SNPs across intestinal tissues.  Further research focused on histone modification and DNA methylation to annotate candidate cis-regulatory elements.  They also investigated the role of Cluster Homolog Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (CHIRs) in avian immunity, using MHC-defined chicken lines as a model.      Muscle Development and Meat Quality: Researchers at the University of Delaware, led by Behnam Abasht and Carl J. Schmidt, focused on Wooden Breast myopathy in broiler chickens. They used spatial transcriptomics and RNA-sequencing to characterize the cell-type-specific expression profile and identify differentially expressed genes associated with Wooden Breast. They also investigated the role of candidate genes CNN1 and PHRF1 in satellite cell function and characterized the metabolic maturation of the post-hatch liver. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, led by Kent M. Reed, investigated the influence of thermal challenge on turkey muscle development and meat quality.  They also completed the analysis and publication of a small RNAseq dataset examining the expression of hepatic miRNA in domestic and wild turkeys exposed to aflatoxin B1 challenge.  Additionally, they collaborated on projects examining age-dependent fertility loss in laying hens.    Hui Yu and Ali Nazmi at The Ohio State University conducted research on the molecular characterization of satellite cell populations in the turkey pectoralis major muscle.  They collaborated with Sandra Velleman to perform RNA sequencing and compare the transcriptomic differences between fast-growing and slow-growing satellite cells.      Genetic Mechanisms and Breeding: Samuel E. Aggrey and collaborators focused on improving genetic parameter estimation of reproductive traits in poultry.  They investigated the effects of data transformations on heritability estimates and animal re-ranking for fertility, percent egg production, and hatch of fertiles.  They also explored imputation methods and efficient estimators to improve genetic parameter estimation under limited sampling.  Additionally, they incorporated SNP prioritization based on the fixation index (FST) statistic to optimize the genetic relationship matrix for genomic selection.   Huaijun Zhou and collaborators at the University of California, Davis, focused on several projects, including functional validation of candidate enhancers and regulatory variants in the chicken genome using MPRAS, leveraging multi-tissue allele-specific epigenomic profiling to decipher the genetic architecture of complex traits, uncovering putative causal mechanisms for growth-related traits through comparative epigenomic analysis, and utilizing long-read sequencing to investigate RNA isoform diversity and uncover genetic mechanisms of growth. Roger A. Sunde at the University of Wisconsin continued research on the effect of selenium (Se) status on the hepatic transcriptome of turkey poults. They also worked on identifying low and high molecular weight Se metabolites in turkeys fed high dietary selenium, collaborating with researchers in France.   Tool Development: Tae Hyun Kim at Penn State University has developed user-friendly CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) transgenic DF-1, DT40 and LMH cell lines, providing affordable and novel avian research tools. These transgenic lines will facilitate gain- and loss-of-function studies by easily introducing guide RNAs, enabling precise gene modulation in vitro.

Publications

Aggrey, S. E. and R. Rekaya, 2024. Genetic factors affecting feed efficiency in meat-type chickens. In: Advances in Poultry Nutrition. (T. J. Applegate, Ed), Burleigh Dodds, Science Publishing, Cambridge, U. K. 17pp http://dx.doi.org/10.19103/AS.2024.0143.06      Adomako, K., S. Sovi, B. Kyei, J. A. Hamidu, O. S. Olympio and S. E. Aggrey, 2024. Phenotypic characterization and analysis of genetic diversity between commercial crossbred and indigenous chickens from three different agro-ecological zones using DArT-Seq technology. PLoS ONE 19(5): e0297643. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297643      Ariyo, O. W., J. Kwakye, S. Sovi, B. Aryal, E. Hartono, A. F. A. Ghareed, M. C. Milfort, A. L. Fuller, R. Rekaya and S. E. Aggrey, 2024. mRNA expression of kidney aquaporins and blood composition of meat-type chickens raised with or without glucose supplementation under cyclic heat or thermoneutral condition. Thermal Biology 126, 104003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.104003      Asnayanti, A., Do, A., and Alrubaye, A. (2024). Microbiology, induction, and management practices to mitigate lameness caused by bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis in broiler chickens. Ger. J. Vet. Res 2024. pp:14-30. Doi: https://doi.org/10.51585/gjvr.2024.4.0106.      Assumpcao, ALFV; K Arsi, A Asnayanti, KS Alharbi, ADT Do, QD Read, R Perera, A Shwani, A Hasan, SD Pillai, RC Anderson. AM Donoghue, DD Rhoads, PRR Jesudhasan, AAK Alrubaye (2024). Electron-Beam-Killed Staphylococcus Vaccine Reduced Lameness in Broiler Chickens. Vaccines 12, 1203. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12111203      Bierla K, Szpunar J, Lobinski R, Sunde RA. Use of laser-ablation inductively-coupled mass spectroscopy for analysis of selenosugars bound to proteins. Metallomics, 2025 (accepted 1/7/25, in press; submitted 9/26/24; revision submitted 11/4/2024)      Bordini, M., Wang, Z., Soglia, F., Petracci, M., Schmidt, C.J. and Abasht, B., 2024. RNA-sequencing revisited data shed new light on wooden breast myopathy. Poultry Science, p.103902.      Botchway, P.K., Amuzu-Aweh, E.N., Naazie, A., Aning, G.K., Otsyina, H.R., Saelao, P., Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Dekkers, J.C., Lamont, S.J. and Gallardo, R.A., 2024. Genotypic and phenotypic characterisation of three local chicken ecotypes of Ghana based on principal component analysis and body measurements. Plos one, 19(8), p.e0308420. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308420      Chen Y, Kosonsiriluk S, Ehresmann L, Reed KM, Noll S, Wileman B, Studniski M, and Boukherroub K. 2024. Changes in adaptive immune cell count and localization in the reproductive tract of turkey breeder hens in response to artificial insemination throughout their laying cycle. Poultry Science, 2024:104448, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2024.104448.      Degalez F, Charles M, Foissac S, Zhou H, Guan D, Fang L, Klopp C, Allain C, Lagoutte L, Lecerf F, Acloque H, Giuffra E, Pitel F, Lagarrigue S. Enriched atlas of IncRNA and protein-coding genes for the GRCg7b chicken assembly and its functional annotation across 47 tissues. Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 19;14(1):6588. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-56705-y.      Drechsler Y, Ng T, Sparling B, Hawkins RD. 177 Functional Annotation of an Array of Immune Cells and Various Tissues in the Chicken. Journal of Animal Science. 2023 Nov 1;101(Supplement_2):24-5.      Ghareeb AFA, Foutz JC, Schneiders GH, Richter JN, Milfort MC, Fuller AL, Rekaya R, Aggrey SE, 2024. Host transcriptome response to heat stress and Eimeria maxima infection in meat-type chickens. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296350      House, LC, A Hasan, A Asnayanti, AAK Alrubaye, J Pummill, DD Rhoads (2024) Phylogenomic analysis of three distinct lineages uniting Staphylococcus cohnii and Staphylococcus urealyticus from diverse hosts. Microorganisms 12:1549.      Jorud K, Mendoza KM, Kono T, Coulombe RA, and Reed KM. 2024. Differential hepatic expression of miRNA in response to aflatoxin B1 challenge in domestic and wild turkeys. Toxins, 16(11), 453. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16110453.      Kanlisi, R. A. E. N. Amuzu-Aweh, A. Naazie, H. R. Otsyina, T. R. Kelly, R. A. Gallardo, S. J. Lamont, H. Zhou, J. Dekkers and B. B. Kayang. 2024. Genetic architecture of body weight, carcass, and internal organs traits of Ghanaian local chickens. Front. Genet. 15:1297034. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1297034      Klünemann, M., L. F. Romero, M. Acman, M. C. Milfort, A. L. Fuller, R. Rekaya, S. E. Aggrey, L. M. Payling and A. Lemme, 2024. Multitissue transcriptomics demonstrates the systemic physiology of methionine deficiency in broiler chickens. Animal 18, 101143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101143      Milfort, M. C., A. F. A. Ghareeb, O. W. Ariyo, J. Kwakye, E. Hartono, S. Sovi, B. Aryal, A. L. Fuler, M. I. El Sabry, F. Stino, R. Rekaya and S. E. Aggrey, 2024. Renal Sugar Metabolites and mRNA Expression of Glucose Transporters in Meat-Type Chickens with Differing Residual Water Intake. Animals 2024, 14(19), 2912; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192912      Paez, S., N. Mapholi, L. T. Nesengani, S. J. Lamont, S. E. Aggrey, O. Hanotte, C. Bottema, and C. Gill, 2024. Supporting social justice through equity-based actions for a sustainable future in animal genetics (at the 39th International Society for Animal Genetics Conference). Animal Genetics (Accepted: 12/24/2024)      Peichel C, Nair DVT, Manjankattil S, Reed KM, Cox RB, Donoghue AM, and Kollanoor Johny A. 2024. Effect of trans-cinnamaldehyde and peracetic 1 acid alone or in combination on multidrug resistant Salmonella Heidelberg on broiler drumsticks under scalding alone or with chilling and storage in sequence. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japr.2024.100508.        Poku, R. A., E. Agyeman-Dua, S. Donkor, R. A. Ayizanga, R. Osei-Amponsah, R. Rekaya and S. E. Aggrey, 2024. Changes in rectal temperature as a means of assessing heat tolerance and sensitivity in chickens. Tropical Animal Health and Production 56: 391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-024-04242-1   Powell AA, Velleman SG, Strasburg G, Abrahante Lloréns JE, and Reed KM. 2024. Circular RNA expression in turkey skeletal muscle satellite cells is significantly altered by thermal challenge. Frontiers in Physiology, Avian Physiology, 15:1476487.doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1476487. Special Issue: Rising Stars in Physiology.   Prabhakaran DM, Nair DVT, Johnson T, Noll S, Dean C, Reed K, and Johny AK. Shotgun metagenomics unveils beneficial cecal microbiome modulation in turkeys exposed to probiotics and vaccine after multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg challenge. Frontiers in Microbiology, in review.   Rhoads, D.D., J Pummill, and A.A.K. Alrubaye (2024). Molecular Genomic Analyses of Enterococcus cecorum from Sepsis Outbreaks in Broilers. Microorganisms 2024 Vol. 12 Issue 2 Pages 250 https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12020250   Salem, M., Al-Tobasei, R., Ali, A., An, L., Wang, Y., Bai, X.,... & Zhou, H. (2024). Functional annotation of regulatory elements in rainbow trout uncovers roles of the epigenome in genetic selection and genome evolution. 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Impact Statements

The NC1170-organized annual Poultry Workshop, held at the PAG, saw significant international participation. The workshop featured 22 talks and had 61 attendees officially registered, representing 37 institutions. However, actual attendance was likely higher, as many individuals attended sessions without signing in. This event provided a valuable platform for disseminating research findings from project members to a diverse international audience, which included many attendees beyond the NC1170. Invited presentations from both members and external experts fostered valuable interactions with industry scientists and created a crucial venue for establishing new research collaborations. This successful workshop underscores the project's impact in advancing poultry genetics and genomics research on a global scale.
The research conducted across the NC-1170 project has significant implications for poultry production, health, and welfare.
Improved gene nomenclature and bioinformatics resources will facilitate research and communication within the poultry genetics community.
Research on disease resistance and immunity will contribute to the development of strategies to control avian diseases, potentially reducing economic losses and improving animal welfare.
Studies on muscle development and meat quality will lead to a better understanding of the genetic and environmental factors affecting these traits, potentially leading to improved breeding strategies and management practices.
Advances in genetic and genomic technologies will enable more efficient and accurate selection for economically important traits, leading to improved productivity and sustainability of poultry production.
Democratizing access to user-friendly CRISPR technology will empower the research community to explore poultry biology. The standardized, user-friendly system will revolutionize avian research by enhancing experimental efficiency, accessibility, and reproducibility, significantly accelerating the pace of discovery.