The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Qigui Wang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • transcriptome profiling of the hypothalamus during prelaying and laying periods in sichuan white geese Anser cygnoides
    2015
    Co-Authors: Guangliang Gao, N Ding, Q Han, Xianzhi Zhao, Qigui Wang
    Abstract:

    The Sichuan White goose is a Chinese breed well known for the quality of its meat. However, reproductive performance in this goose is not ideal, and little information is available regarding the abundance of transcripts. To better understand the molecular mechanism(s) underpinning prelaying and laying periods in the Sichuan white goose, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed to analyze the transcriptome in the hypothalamus. After sequencing and annotation, 26 921 unigenes were obtained, with 48 transcripts up-regulated in the prelaying period and 180 transcripts up-regulated during the laying period. These transcripts were primarily related to diseases, cancers, signaling molecules and interactions, the nervous system and the immune system. Eight transcripts were selected for further analyses with quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The qRT-PCR results were mostly consistent with those from the high-throughput RNA sequencing. Among these transcripts, serine/threonine-protein kinase (AMPK), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and NADH dehydrogenase 1 (ND1) were differentially expressed during the prelaying and laying periods. The results of this study provide a useful resource for future studies examining the hypothalamus in geese.

  • comprehensive analysis of sichuan white geese Anser cygnoides transcriptome
    2014
    Co-Authors: N Ding, Q Han, Xianzhi Zhao, Qigui Wang
    Abstract:

    High-throughput RNA sequencing was performed for comprehensively analyzing the transcriptome of geese. A total of 28 803 759 bp of raw sequence data was generated by 454 GS Flx+. After removal of adaptor sequences, 28 730 361 bp remained and 117 279 reads were obtained, with an average length of 244 bases. Simultaneously, complementary DNA samples from two different reproductive stages of goose ovarian, hypothalamus and pituitary tissue were sequenced separately using Illumina MiSeq platform. A total of 12 688 673 148 bp of raw sequence data were generated by Illumina MiSeq. After removal of adaptor sequences, 8 198 126 562 bp remained and 60 382 786 clean reads were obtained, with an average length of 135 bases. Assembly of all the reads from both 454 Flx+ and Illumina platforms formed 56 839 contigs. The sequence size ranges from 38 to 28 206 bp in size, with an average size of 2584 bp and an N50 of 4624. The assembly produced a substantial number of large contigs: 35 545 (62.5%) were longer than 1 kb, of which 8850 (15.6%) were longer than 5 kb. The sequencing depth was 85 X on average. We performed comprehensive function annotations on unigenes including protein sequence similarity, gene ontology (GO) term classification, and Kyoto Encylcopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment. GO analysis showed that approximately 63% of the contigs had annotation information, among the 35 953 annotated isotigs in Nr database, 24 783 (68.9%) sequences were assigned with one or more GO terms. There were 14 634 (40.7%) isotigs for biological processes, 10 557(29.3%) isotigs for cellular component, 22 607 (62.9%) isotigs for molecular function. The result of KEGG pathway mapping 8926 sequences had the pathway annotation, and took part in 477 pathways. Additionally, 10 685 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were identified from the assembled sequences. The most frequent repeat motifs were trinucleotides, which accounted for 53.03% of all SSRs, followed by dinucleotides (39.9%), tetranucleotides (5.08%), pentanucleotides (1.68%) and hexanucleotides (0.32%). Transcriptome sequencing on mixture issue of the geese yielded substantial transcriptional sequences and potentially useful SSR markers which provide an important data source for geese research.

Lei Cao - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Changing Abundance and Distribution of the Wintering Swan Goose Anser cygnoides in the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Floodplain: An Investigation Combining a Field Survey with Satellite Telemetry
    2019
    Co-Authors: Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang, Qin Zhu, Junjian Zhang, Dali Gao
    Abstract:

    Migratory waterbird communities are quick to respond to ecosystem degradation, and they are widely considered to be important bioindicators of complex environmental changes. The swan goose (Anser cygnoides) has been listed as a globally vulnerable species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. This species currently winters almost exclusively in China and is mostly concentrated on lakes in the middle and lower catchment of the Yangtze River floodplain, especially in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi province and some sites in Anhui province. In the past few years, the population of A. cygnoides has fluctuated. To protect this fragile Anatidae species, long-term and accurate population estimation is both necessary and urgent. In this study, we evaluated the change in numbers and distribution of A. cygnoides by comparing surveys conducted in 2004 and 2005 with more recent ones conducted in 2015 and 2016. A reduction in the count number of this species occurred in the survey sites. After a statistical Mann-Whitney U test, the count numbers of A. cygnoides decreased significantly at the survey sites in Anhui province and the abundance decrease at the survey sites in Poyang Lake was only marginally significant. The inaccessibility of the new sites revealed by satellite tracking impeded a more prudent and comprehensive estimate of the population change. Satellite tracking technology may be a tool to consider for increasing the efficiency of data acquisition. Information transmitted from satellite tracking devices can help us to better understand the species’ behavior and wintering habitat. This technology has the potential to substitute costly and time-consuming field surveys. Conservation designs and management plans must be created for specific national nature reserves and key wintering sites. A more efficient long-term species monitoring system with improved spatial coverage should be conducted to safeguard wintering A. cygnoides.

  • a potential distribution map of wintering swan goose Anser cygnoides in the middle and lower yangtze river floodplain china
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yong Zhang, Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang
    Abstract:

    Reliable information on the distribution of target species and influencing environmental factors is essential for effective conservation management. However, ecologists have often derived data from costly field surveys. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), a vulnerable Anatidae species, winters almost exclusively in China’s Yangtze River floodplain, but wintering numbers have been steadily decreasing. To better safeguard this unique species, modern modeling approaches can be used to quantify and predict its suitable wintering habitat. Specifically, a potential wintering distribution map of this species is critically important. This study used the maximum entropy approach to model a distribution map of this species. In total, data from 97 up-to-date sites were extracted from 1263 survey sites (excluding duplicate data). After eliminating spatial autocorrelation, 11 environmental variables, including factors related to climate, land structure, vegetation, and anthropogenic activities, were used for model prediction. The prediction distribution map shows that the population has concentrated mainly in the boundary area of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, especially along the Yangtze River. Modeling results suggest that areas within the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, such as those in Hunan and Hubei provinces and the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang Province, demonstrate a potential level of “medium” suitability for this species to winter. Results from this study provide fundamental information for the restoration and management of the Swan Goose. Our “visualized” potential distribution map can assist in planning optimal conservation strategies, and consequently may help to increase the number of wintering populations in China.

  • A potential distribution map of wintering Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, China
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yong Zhang, Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang
    Abstract:

    Abstract Background Reliable information on the distribution of target species and influencing environmental factors is essential for effective conservation management. However, ecologists have often derived data from costly field surveys. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), a vulnerable Anatidae species, winters almost exclusively in China’s Yangtze River floodplain, but wintering numbers have been steadily decreasing. To better safeguard this unique species, modern modeling approaches can be used to quantify and predict its suitable wintering habitat. Specifically, a potential wintering distribution map of this species is critically important. Methods This study used the maximum entropy approach to model a distribution map of this species. In total, data from 97 up-to-date sites were extracted from 1263 survey sites (excluding duplicate data). After eliminating spatial autocorrelation, 11 environmental variables, including factors related to climate, land structure, vegetation, and anthropogenic activities, were used for model prediction. Results The prediction distribution map shows that the population has concentrated mainly in the boundary area of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, especially along the Yangtze River. Modeling results suggest that areas within the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, such as those in Hunan and Hubei provinces and the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang Province, demonstrate a potential level of “medium” suitability for this species to winter. Conclusions Results from this study provide fundamental information for the restoration and management of the Swan Goose. Our “visualized” potential distribution map can assist in planning optimal conservation strategies, and consequently may help to increase the number of wintering populations in China

  • Habitat environments impacted the gut microbiome of long-distance migratory swan geese but central species conserved
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yuzhan Yang, Lei Cao, Xin Wang, Huaqun Yin, Zhujun Wang, Yangying Liu, Ye Deng
    Abstract:

    Abstract The gut microbime plays an important role in the health of wild animals. This microbial community could be altered by habitat pollution and other human activities that threaten the host organisms. Here, we satellite-tracked a flock of swan geese (Anser cygnoides) migrating from their breeding area (Khukh Lake, Mongolia), with low levels of human activity, to their wintering area (Poyang Lake, China) which has been heavily impacted by human activities. Twenty fecal samples were collected from each site. High-throughput sequencing of 16S and ITS was employed to explore bacterial and fungal composition and diversity of their gut microbiome. Although general composition, alpha-diversity, functional prediction, and the central taxa in the phylogenetic networks showed some similarities between the two habitats, significant divergences were detected in terms of beta-diversity, species abundances, and interaction network topologies. In addition, disease-related and xenobiotic biodegradation pathways, and pathogenic bacteria were significantly increased in bacterial communities from samples at Poyang Lake. Our results reveal that the gut microbiome of swan geese, while somewhat altered after long-distance migration, still maintained a core group of species. We also show that habitat environmental stress could impact these gut microbial communities, suggesting that habitat pollution could indirectly threaten wild animals by altering their gut microbiome

  • chewing lice of swan geese Anser cygnoides new host parasite associations
    2016
    Co-Authors: Changyong Choi, Lei Cao, Anthony D Fox, Xin Wang, Nyambayar Batbayar, John Y Takekawa, Diann J Prosser, Lacy M Smith, Craig R Ely, Tseveenmayadag Natsagdorj
    Abstract:

    Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) that parasitize the globally threatened swan goose Anser cygnoides have been long recognized since the early 19th century, but those records were probably biased towards sampling of captive or domestic geese due to the small population size and limited distribution of its wild hosts. To better understand the lice species parasitizing swan geese that are endemic to East Asia, we collected chewing lice from 14 wild geese caught at 3 lakes in northeastern Mongolia. The lice were morphologically identified as 16 Trinoton Anserinum (Fabricius, 1805), 11 Ornithobius domesticus Arnold, 2005, and 1 Anaticola Anseris (Linnaeus, 1758). These species are known from other geese and swans, but all of them were new to the swan goose. This result also indicates no overlap in lice species between older records and our findings from wild birds. Thus, ectoparasites collected from domestic or captive animals may provide biased information on the occurrence, prevalence, host selection, and host-ectoparasite interactions from those on wild hosts.

W. Fiedler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Permanent Genetic Resources added to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 February 2010–31 March 2010
    2010
    Co-Authors: D. Aurelle, A.j. Baker, L. Bottin, Carine Brouat, A. Caccone, A. Chaix, P. Dhakal, Y. Ding, Jean-marc Duplantier, W. Fiedler
    Abstract:

    This article documents the addition of 228microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Anser cygnoides, Apodemus flavicollis, Athene noctua, Cercis canadensis, Glis glis, Gubernatrix cristata, Haliotis tuberculata, Helianthus maximiliani, Laricobius nigrinus, Laricobius rubidus, Neoheligmonella granjoni, Nephrops norvegicus, Oenanthe javanica, Paramuricea clavata, Pyrrhura orcesi and Samanea saman. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Apodemus sylvaticus, Laricobius laticollis and Laricobius osakensis (a proposed new species currently being described)

Xin Wang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Changing Abundance and Distribution of the Wintering Swan Goose Anser cygnoides in the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Floodplain: An Investigation Combining a Field Survey with Satellite Telemetry
    2019
    Co-Authors: Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang, Qin Zhu, Junjian Zhang, Dali Gao
    Abstract:

    Migratory waterbird communities are quick to respond to ecosystem degradation, and they are widely considered to be important bioindicators of complex environmental changes. The swan goose (Anser cygnoides) has been listed as a globally vulnerable species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. This species currently winters almost exclusively in China and is mostly concentrated on lakes in the middle and lower catchment of the Yangtze River floodplain, especially in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi province and some sites in Anhui province. In the past few years, the population of A. cygnoides has fluctuated. To protect this fragile Anatidae species, long-term and accurate population estimation is both necessary and urgent. In this study, we evaluated the change in numbers and distribution of A. cygnoides by comparing surveys conducted in 2004 and 2005 with more recent ones conducted in 2015 and 2016. A reduction in the count number of this species occurred in the survey sites. After a statistical Mann-Whitney U test, the count numbers of A. cygnoides decreased significantly at the survey sites in Anhui province and the abundance decrease at the survey sites in Poyang Lake was only marginally significant. The inaccessibility of the new sites revealed by satellite tracking impeded a more prudent and comprehensive estimate of the population change. Satellite tracking technology may be a tool to consider for increasing the efficiency of data acquisition. Information transmitted from satellite tracking devices can help us to better understand the species’ behavior and wintering habitat. This technology has the potential to substitute costly and time-consuming field surveys. Conservation designs and management plans must be created for specific national nature reserves and key wintering sites. A more efficient long-term species monitoring system with improved spatial coverage should be conducted to safeguard wintering A. cygnoides.

  • a potential distribution map of wintering swan goose Anser cygnoides in the middle and lower yangtze river floodplain china
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yong Zhang, Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang
    Abstract:

    Reliable information on the distribution of target species and influencing environmental factors is essential for effective conservation management. However, ecologists have often derived data from costly field surveys. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), a vulnerable Anatidae species, winters almost exclusively in China’s Yangtze River floodplain, but wintering numbers have been steadily decreasing. To better safeguard this unique species, modern modeling approaches can be used to quantify and predict its suitable wintering habitat. Specifically, a potential wintering distribution map of this species is critically important. This study used the maximum entropy approach to model a distribution map of this species. In total, data from 97 up-to-date sites were extracted from 1263 survey sites (excluding duplicate data). After eliminating spatial autocorrelation, 11 environmental variables, including factors related to climate, land structure, vegetation, and anthropogenic activities, were used for model prediction. The prediction distribution map shows that the population has concentrated mainly in the boundary area of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, especially along the Yangtze River. Modeling results suggest that areas within the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, such as those in Hunan and Hubei provinces and the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang Province, demonstrate a potential level of “medium” suitability for this species to winter. Results from this study provide fundamental information for the restoration and management of the Swan Goose. Our “visualized” potential distribution map can assist in planning optimal conservation strategies, and consequently may help to increase the number of wintering populations in China.

  • A potential distribution map of wintering Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, China
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yong Zhang, Lei Cao, Qiang Jia, Xin Wang
    Abstract:

    Abstract Background Reliable information on the distribution of target species and influencing environmental factors is essential for effective conservation management. However, ecologists have often derived data from costly field surveys. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides), a vulnerable Anatidae species, winters almost exclusively in China’s Yangtze River floodplain, but wintering numbers have been steadily decreasing. To better safeguard this unique species, modern modeling approaches can be used to quantify and predict its suitable wintering habitat. Specifically, a potential wintering distribution map of this species is critically important. Methods This study used the maximum entropy approach to model a distribution map of this species. In total, data from 97 up-to-date sites were extracted from 1263 survey sites (excluding duplicate data). After eliminating spatial autocorrelation, 11 environmental variables, including factors related to climate, land structure, vegetation, and anthropogenic activities, were used for model prediction. Results The prediction distribution map shows that the population has concentrated mainly in the boundary area of Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, especially along the Yangtze River. Modeling results suggest that areas within the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain, such as those in Hunan and Hubei provinces and the eastern coastal area of Zhejiang Province, demonstrate a potential level of “medium” suitability for this species to winter. Conclusions Results from this study provide fundamental information for the restoration and management of the Swan Goose. Our “visualized” potential distribution map can assist in planning optimal conservation strategies, and consequently may help to increase the number of wintering populations in China

  • Habitat environments impacted the gut microbiome of long-distance migratory swan geese but central species conserved
    2018
    Co-Authors: Yuzhan Yang, Lei Cao, Xin Wang, Huaqun Yin, Zhujun Wang, Yangying Liu, Ye Deng
    Abstract:

    Abstract The gut microbime plays an important role in the health of wild animals. This microbial community could be altered by habitat pollution and other human activities that threaten the host organisms. Here, we satellite-tracked a flock of swan geese (Anser cygnoides) migrating from their breeding area (Khukh Lake, Mongolia), with low levels of human activity, to their wintering area (Poyang Lake, China) which has been heavily impacted by human activities. Twenty fecal samples were collected from each site. High-throughput sequencing of 16S and ITS was employed to explore bacterial and fungal composition and diversity of their gut microbiome. Although general composition, alpha-diversity, functional prediction, and the central taxa in the phylogenetic networks showed some similarities between the two habitats, significant divergences were detected in terms of beta-diversity, species abundances, and interaction network topologies. In addition, disease-related and xenobiotic biodegradation pathways, and pathogenic bacteria were significantly increased in bacterial communities from samples at Poyang Lake. Our results reveal that the gut microbiome of swan geese, while somewhat altered after long-distance migration, still maintained a core group of species. We also show that habitat environmental stress could impact these gut microbial communities, suggesting that habitat pollution could indirectly threaten wild animals by altering their gut microbiome

  • chewing lice of swan geese Anser cygnoides new host parasite associations
    2016
    Co-Authors: Changyong Choi, Lei Cao, Anthony D Fox, Xin Wang, Nyambayar Batbayar, John Y Takekawa, Diann J Prosser, Lacy M Smith, Craig R Ely, Tseveenmayadag Natsagdorj
    Abstract:

    Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) that parasitize the globally threatened swan goose Anser cygnoides have been long recognized since the early 19th century, but those records were probably biased towards sampling of captive or domestic geese due to the small population size and limited distribution of its wild hosts. To better understand the lice species parasitizing swan geese that are endemic to East Asia, we collected chewing lice from 14 wild geese caught at 3 lakes in northeastern Mongolia. The lice were morphologically identified as 16 Trinoton Anserinum (Fabricius, 1805), 11 Ornithobius domesticus Arnold, 2005, and 1 Anaticola Anseris (Linnaeus, 1758). These species are known from other geese and swans, but all of them were new to the swan goose. This result also indicates no overlap in lice species between older records and our findings from wild birds. Thus, ectoparasites collected from domestic or captive animals may provide biased information on the occurrence, prevalence, host selection, and host-ectoparasite interactions from those on wild hosts.

Guohong Chen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • identifying molecular pathways and candidate genes associated with knob traits by transcriptome analysis in the goose Anser cygnoides
    2021
    Co-Authors: Lie Hou, Yu Zhang, Yang Zhang, Guohong Chen, Xiaoya Yuan, Zhuoyu Chen, Wenming Zhao
    Abstract:

    Anser cygnoides has a spherical crest on the beak roof, which is described as knob. However, the mechanisms affecting knob morphology are unclear. Here, we investigated the phenotypic characteristics and molecular basis of knob-size differences in Yangzhou geese. Anatomically, the knob was identified as frontal hump in the frontal area of the skull, rather than hump of upper beak. Although the frontal hump length, and height varied greatly in geese with different knob phenotypes, little was changed in the width. Histologically, knob skin in large-size knobs geese have a greater length in the stratum corneum, stratum spinosum, and stratum reticular than that in small-size knobs geese. Moveover, the 415 differentially expressed genes were found between the large knobs and small ones through transcriptome profiling. In addition, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis revealed 455 significant GO terms and 210 KEGG pathways were enriched, respectively. Among these, TGF-β signaling and thyroid hormone synthesis-signaling pathways were identified to determine knob-size phenotype. Furthermore, BMP5, DCN, TSHR and ADCY3 were recognized to involve in the growth and development of knob. Our data provide comprehensive molecular determinants of knob size phenotype, which can potentially promote the genetic improvement of goose knobs.

  • difference in developmental dynamics between subcutaneous and abdominal adipose tissues in goose Anser cygnoides
    2021
    Co-Authors: Weiran Huo, Kaiqi Weng, Yu Zhang, Yang Zhang, Guohong Chen
    Abstract:

    Goose (Anas cygnoides), as a typical species domesticated from a migratory bird, has maintained the capability of depositing excess lipid and preferentially accumulating fat within the abdomen and subcutaneous, which not only leads to decrease in yield of meat product, but also affects the feed conversion rate. Here, an experiment was conducted to examine the difference in developmental dynamics between subcutaneous (SAT) and abdominal adipose tissues (AAT) in goose. The results showed that SAT could be clearly observed at embryonic days (E) 15, whereas AAT were clearer until E20. Although the weights of SAT and AAT showed a significant rising with advancing age (P 0.05). Furthermore, the expression levels of FABP4/aP2, ACSL1 and PPARγ were much higher in SAT than in AAT, whereas relative higher expression level of IL-6 was observed in the AAT during embryonic stages. After birth, the more expression of LPL and PPARα were detected in AAT than did in SAT (P < 0.05), whereas greater ATGL expression was in SAT (P < 0.05). Taken together, these findings suggest that AAT may display greater fat storage capacity than SAT accompanied by changes in cell area and lipogenic capacity. Considering that there is disparity in the individual adipose tissues, we suggested that careful consideration for the precise interventions used to control SAT or AAT deposition in meat-producing animals to improve feed efficiency.

  • identification and characterization of the adipogenesis in intramuscular and subcutaneous adipocytes of the goose Anser cygnoides
    2021
    Co-Authors: Weiran Huo, Kaiqi Weng, Yu Zhang, Yang Zhang, Guohong Chen
    Abstract:

    Chinese geese are domesticated from wild swan (Anser cygnoides), which have maintained a strong capacity of fat deposit. Fat mainly distributes subcutaneous, abdominal, intermuscular or intramuscul...

  • mir 34c 5p promotes granulosa cells apoptosis by targeting bcl2 in broody goose Anser cygnoides
    2021
    Co-Authors: Lie Hou, Kaiqi Weng, Yu Zhang, Yang Zhang, Di Liu, Guohong Chen
    Abstract:

    Goose (Anser cygnoides) are highly broody with low egg production, and large number of granulosa cells undergo apoptosis during broodiness. Our previous study has found that miR-34c-5p was highly a...

  • characterization of ovarian morphology and reproductive hormones in zhedong white geese Anser cygnoides domesticus during the reproductive cycle
    2020
    Co-Authors: Zhixiu Wang, Yang Zhang, Wenming Zhao, Laidi Wang, Ying Yao, Guohong Chen
    Abstract:

    Zhedong white goose (Anser cygnoides domesticus) is a native Chinese breed with strong broodiness and low egg production, which is related to the physiology of reproduction. However, thus far, the physiology of goose reproduction has not been well elucidated. In the present study, the ovarian morphology and reproductive hormones of Zhedong white geese were investigated during the reproductive cycle (the laying and brooding periods). The results showed that the surface of the ovary was atrophied and follicular atresia appeared to some extent in the brooding period compared with the laying period. The concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone, progesterone and luteinizing hormone were significantly higher than those in the brooding period (p < 0.05). In contrast, the concentrations of prolactin (PRL) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in the laying period were significantly lower than those in the brooding period (p < 0.05). In addition, the mRNA expression levels of PRL, AMH, dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DβH) and cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) were detected in the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries by using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that AMH mRNA was expressed specifically in ovary tissue. The expression levels of DβH and PRL in the brooding period was significantly higher than those in the laying period in the three tissues, especially in the early and middle stages of the brooding period. Moreover, AMH mRNA expression in the ovaries presented the same trend. In addition, P450scc mRNA was highly expressed in both the ovary and pituitary in the laying period. These results revealed the remarkable features of ovarian morphology and characterized the hormonal pattern and expression profile during the reproductive cycle, all of which contribute to understanding the differences in reproductive physiology between the laying and brooding periods in Zhedong white geese.