**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** WOODEN BREAST MYOPATHY (WB) HAS EMERGED AS A GLOBAL THREAT TO BROILER PRODUCTION DUE TO SEVERE DETERIORATION OF MEAT QUALITY IN AFFECTED MUSCLES. DESPITE ITS PREVALENCE AND THE FACT THAT BROILER PRODUCERS AND PRIMARY BREEDING COMPANIES HAVE EXPRESSED IMMENSE INTEREST IN A TIMELY AND ECONOMIC SOLUTION, THERE IS CURRENTLY NO APPROACH AVAILABLE TO EFFECTIVELY PREVENT THIS DISEASE. THROUGH ASSOCIATION ANALYSES, WE HAVE RECENTLY IDENTIFIED GENOMIC REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH WB. THE PURPOSE OF OUR PROJECT IS TO CONDUCT AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THESE GENOMIC REGIONS TO IDENTIFY AND CHARACTERIZE CANDIDATE MUTATIONS THAT CAUSE WB. WE AIM TO (I) VALIDATE WHILE AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE MAPPING PRECISION OF THESE REGIONS, (II) IDENTIFY CANDIDATE MUTATIONS THAT CAUSE WB IN EACH TARGET REGION AND DETERMINE THEIR ROLES IN METABOLIC DYSREGULATION ANDCELLULAR DYSFUNCTION. A NEW SEQUENCING APPROACH WILL BE USED TO SEQUENCE TARGET GENOMIC REGIONS IN 800 BROILER CHICKENS.THE APPLICATION OF THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY IS REVOLUTIONARY IN THAT IT WILL ENABLE DETECTING ALL TYPES OF CHANGES IN DNA AMONG INDIVIDUALS [SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE (1-LETTER CHANGES), INSERTION/DELETION (< 50-LETTER CHANGES) AND STRUCTURAL (>= 50-LETTER CHANGES)], ALLOWING IDENTIFICATION OF TOP SIGNIFICANT CHANGES (MUTATIONS) CAUSING WB.ADDITIONALLY, ASSOCIATION ANALYSIS USING THESE MUTATIONS IN EACH TARGET REGION AND MOLECULAR PHENOTYPES (GENE EXPRESSION AND METABOLITES) WILL ALLOW STUDYING THE CAUSE OF WB.

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

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