Chicken FTO gene: Tissue-specific expression, brain distribution, breed difference and effect of fasting

Fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is widely expressed in central and peripheral tissues of mammals, and exhibits a range of functions, especially in energy balance. However, basic knowledge of FTO in the chicken is lacking. Therefore, we studied the tissue distribution, age and breed dependent changes, brain localization, as well as the impact of fasting on FTO mRNA expression in the chicken. FTO mRNA was expressed in all the tissues studied, and generally, with high expression in hypothalamus, liver, visceral fat and cerebellum. However it exhibited breed-specific patterns: in broilers, the highest expression was seen in the liver, while in layers, hypothalamus and cerebellum showed relatively higher FTO mRNA expression. One-week-old broilers expressed markedly higher FTO mRNA in liver compared with the layers of the same age (P < 0.01), while the breed difference was reversed in visceral fat and cerebellum (P < 0.05). Compared with newly hatched chicks (one week of age), adult layers expressed higher FTO mRNA in liver and visceral fat, while adult broilers showed higher expression in hypothalamus and cerebellum. In situ hybridization demonstrated distribution of FTO mRNA in paraventricularis magnocellularis (PVN), nucleus ventromedialis hypothalami (VMN), nucleus lateralis hypothalami (LHy), nucleus dorsomedialis hypothalami (DMN) of the hypothalamus and nucleus habenularis medialis (HM) and stratum cellulare externum (SCE) of the thalamus. Breed-specific expression of FTO mRNA was shown in PVN, but not in VMN, with higher abundance in broilers compared to layers. The decrease in FTO mRNA levels after 24 h of fasting was seen only in VMN of layer chickens. These results may provide some intriguing hints for further investigation of FTO function in the chicken.