A Case Study on Activin Gene in Avian Species

The present study aimed at carrying out an In silico analysis of activin gene in guinea fowl and in some avian species, thereby providing the basis for the use of activin or its downstream target gene for the improvement of impaired wound healing, and of activin antagonists for the prevention and treatment of fibrosis and of malignant tumors that over express activin. Among the avian species, understanding the roles of activin happens to be a dominant challenge in the genetic evolution due to its complexity in nature. As a sedentary bird, guinea fowl is more susceptible to local selection processes and needs a proper genetic study for conservation. The current study lays the groundwork for the use of activin antagonists to treat and prevent fibrosis and end malignant tumors that overexpress activin, as well as activin or its target genes to enhance defective wound healing. The data offered will function as a foundational instrument for more extensive genetic diversity investigations aimed at identifying important genes and genetic resources for poultry breeding programs. This study was done by retrieving hundred (100) nucleotides and amino acid sequences of activin gene belonging to guinea fowl and other avians from the GeneBank, aligning the sequences using BLASTp determined the percent identity and phylogenetic relationship of the activin gene of guinea fowl and other avians. The shortest ACTIVIN nucleotide sequence (467bp) was observed in chicken and the longest (39896445) in duck. Using the comparative sequence analysis, it was observed that ACTIVIN gene of chickens, turkey and guinea fowl shared percent identity ranging from 91 to 95%. The percent identity reflects degree of relatedness of species. Although closely related (90%) in ancestral line, the Activin gene of guinea fowl and quail cannot be compared with guinea fowl-turkey (95%) nor guinea fowl-chicken (90%), in both biological functions and evolutionary relationship. Genetic diversity is useful especially for selecting animals with high reproductive efficiency and fertility potential which are most preferred by ranchers. Diversity in activin gene may lead to variation in the expression of function with avians having more of such variation. Finally, the percent identity and similarity in function of ACTIVIN gene of guinea fowl, turkey, and chicken were in the range of 93-100%, indicating that activin gene of avians possesses similar functions, well conserved and are very effective in performing functions like increasing FSH bindings, FSH-induced aromatization, improves wound healing and enhances scar formation, regulates morphogenesis of branching organs, enhances ovarian folliculogenesis. The study therefore, recommends farmers to select and breed for activin gene in order to promote reproductive efficiency, thereby barricading species extinction.