Scientists complete sequencing of chicken genome

CHONGQING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A group of scientists have assembled the complete sequence of a chicken genome, marking a milestone achievement in the genome sequencing of a key economic animal.

"The chicken is one of the most important vertebrate model organisms, yet its genome was not complete," said Xu Luohao, a professor with Southwest University and one of the designers of this research project.

Xu and colleagues applied the technology of long-read sequencing on the Huxu chicken, an endemic breed in China, and the mapping uncovered six chromosome models absent in previous genome assemblies.

This world-leading research is expected to improve the understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of vertebrates and benefit molecular breeding of domestic chickens, researchers said.

The study was recently published in U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).