Chinese Scientists Map World's First Complete Goose Genome Sequence

Chinese scientists have sequenced the complete genome of the white goose – a first for the world – which is likely to benefit research into poultry breeding, anti-epidemic strategies and bird domestication.

Researchers from the BGI-Shenzhen (Beijing Genomics Institute), the Zhejiang Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Zhedong White Goose Institute in Xiangshan County of Zhejiang Province mapped the complete genome sequence of the Zhedong white goose after two years of effort. The Zhedong white goose is known for its fast early-stage growth rate.

The complete sequence lays a solid theoretical foundation for understanding growth performance, meat quality and the biological breeding rules of the goose at the DNA level, and plays an important role in the selective breeding of high-quality varieties.