Comparing the Liver from Modern Broilers and Ugandan Chicken

The environment has long influenced how different species evolve and what types of genes get expressed in a population. Broiler chickens in the United States have been selected for feed efficiency in a carefully controlled environment. We are interested in comparing industry-selected chickens with Ugandan birds that undergone more natural selection. RNA transcriptome libraries were prepared from Ross708 and Ugandan chicken livers. Relative Tissue Expression Values were used to identify genes that were specifically up regulated in the liver. Based on these results, the genes were then further sorted by up regulation in the Ugandan Birds versus the United States lines (Ross 708 and their legacy counterparts). These lists were run through two different pathway analysis programs to determine which genes in certain pathways were being expressed and how they relate to one another. Currently, those pathways are being analyzed to determine the differences between the Ugandan and broiler birds and what role these genes may play in the environment.