Domestic Fowl Breed Variation in Egg White Protein Expression: Application of Proteomics and Transcriptomics

Avian egg white is essential for protecting and nourishing bird embryos during their development. Being produced in the female magnum, variability in hen oviduct gene expression may affect egg white composition in domestic chickens. Since traditional poultry breeds may represent a source of variation, in the present study we describe the egg white proteome (mass spectrometry) and corresponding magnum transcriptome (high-throughput sequencing) for 20 hens from five domestic fowl breeds (large breeds: Araucana, Czech golden pencilled, Minorca; and small breeds: Booted bantam, Rosecomb bantam). In total, we identified 189 egg white proteins and 16391 magnum-expressed genes. The majority of egg white protein content comprised proteins with an antimicrobial function. Despite general similarity, Between-class Principal Component Analysis revealed significant breed-specific variability in protein abundances, differentiating especially small and large breeds. Though we found strong association between magnum mRNA expression and egg white protein abundance across genes, coinertia analysis revealed no transcriptome/proteome costructure at the individual level. Our study is the first to show variation in protein abundances in egg white across chicken breeds with potential effects on egg quality, biosafety, and chick development. The observed interindividual variation probably results from post-transcriptional regulation creating a discrepancy between proteomic and transcriptomic data.