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Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Hippocampal Neuroplasticity as an Indicator of Stress Responsiveness in Laying Hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tim Boswell, Dr Tom SmuldersORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Environmental stressors in commercial poultry systems can negatively affect bird welfare, although individuals vary considerably in their responses. Neuroplasticity within the hippocampus, measured through the density of doublecortin-positive (DCX+) neurons, provides a potential biomarker of stress experience in laying hens. However, the genetic basis underlying variation in this biomarker remains poorly understood. A total of 42 H&N and Hy-Line Brown hens housed in a multi-tier free range and enriched cage system, respectively, were genotyped using Genotyping by Sequencing, yielding over 200,000 SNP markers after initial filtering. Hippocampal tissue sections were immunostained for DCX to quantify the density of highly plastic neurons. A genome-wide association analysis identified 19 genomic regions across eight chromosomes within the top 1% of windows explaining the greatest proportion of genetic variance in the neuroplasticity phenotype. Within ±100 kb of these regions, 39 annotated genes were identified, several of which are involved in cellular regulation and genetic information processing pathways. Notably, PIK3R6, VPS37D, STX1A, BAZ1B, HGH1, MAF1, MAPK15, and PIT54 emerged as positional candidate genes potentially contributing to variation in stress responsiveness. These findings provide preliminary insight into the genetic architecture of hippocampal neuroplasticity in laying hens and highlight candidate genes that may contribute to individual differences in stress response, with potential implications for breeding strategies aimed at improving poultry welfare.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Neuert L, Osborne V, Armstrong EA, Pértille F, Guerrero Bosagna C, Boswell T, Smulders TV, Baes CF, Makanjuola BO

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Animal Genetics

Year: 2026

Volume: 57

Issue: 5

Online publication date: 08/09/2026

Acceptance date: 27/08/2026

Date deposited: 10/09/2026

ISSN (print): 0268-9146

ISSN (electronic): 1365-2052

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/age.70202

DOI: 10.1002/age.70202

Data Access Statement: The datasets analyzed during this study are available from a previous study (Armstrong et al. 2022) in which their microbiome sequencing data can be accessed on the NCBI Sequencing Repository Archive regarding the BioProject Number PRJNA762251. A publicly accessible repository contains the other datasets that were generated and analyzed during the previous study (Armstrong et al. 2022) and can be found at: https://doi.org/10.25405/data.ncl.14135153.

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