Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: PubMed "nature biotechnology" Poult Sci. 2026 Aug 22;105(12):107693. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107693. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTBreast muscle yield is an economically important trait in ducks, but the contribution of population-level transposable element insertion polymorphisms (TIPs) to its genetic regulation remains poorly understood. Whole-genome resequencing data from 200 ducks representing Cherry Valley ducks, Liancheng white ducks, and five Jinling White Duck lines were used to identify population-level TIPs. After quality filtering, TIP-based genome-wide association study (TIP-GWAS) and TIP-based expression genome-wide association study (TIP-eGWAS) were performed to identify loci associated with breast muscle traits and gene expression. Candidate genes were prioritized by integrating TIP-associated expression genes, weighted gene coexpression network analysis, differential expression analysis, and gene-trait correlation analysis, followed by functional evaluation in primary duck myoblasts. A total of 3,628 TIPs were identified, and 543 high-confidence TIPs were retained for population structure and association analyses. TIP-GWAS detected 14 significant trait-locus associations, mainly involving breast muscle yield traits, which were merged into 6 nonredundant TIP loci. Targeted TIP-eGWAS followed by conservative filtering retained 1,410 priority eGenes, of which 147 were associated with at least one target trait. These genes were enriched in pathways related to the tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, carbon metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and fibroblast growth factor receptor signaling. Integrative analysis prioritized LOC101798742 as a candidate gene corresponding to the chr6:36133712 TIP locus. In silico annotation indicated that LOC101798742 encodes the duck ortholog of alpha-aspartyl dipeptidase (DNPEP). In primary duck myoblasts, LOC101798742 knockdown reduced proliferation-related gene expression, altered cell-cycle distribution, and enhanced myoblast fusion, whereas overexpression promoted cell-cycle progression and increased apoptosis-related changes. These findings suggest that population-level TIP variation may contribute to duck breast muscle yield through gene regulatory networks and myoblast proliferation-differentiation dynamics. This study expands the range of regulatory variants considered in duck breeding and provides candidate loci and genes for future functional validation and genetic improvement.PMID:42785058 | DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2026.107693