Comparison of Telomere Length and Vitality among Korean Native Chicken Breeds

We compared the degrees of vitality of 12 Korean native chicken breeds, such as Jaeraejong, Korean Rhode Island Red (Rhode), Korean White Leghorn, Korean Cornish (Cornish), and Korean Ogye breeds. The survival rate and telomere length were measured as vital markers. Telomere length was analyzed via quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization method using the lymphocytes of 466 chickens. We found that the telomere length decreased linearly with increasing chronological age in all chicken breeds. Telomere length and telomere shortening rates (TSR) were significantly different among the chicken breeds after 20 weeks of age ( P <0.01). Rhode had the longest telomere length and the lowest TSR, whereas Cornish had the shortest telomere length and the highest TSR. In terms of TSR, the telomere length of 50-week-old chickens was half of that of 8-week-old chickens. There was also a significant difference in survival rates among the breeds. Both Rhode and Korean Ogye had the highest survival rates, while Cornish had the lowest. There was a significant positive correlation between survival rate and telomere length, and telomere length in old age showed a higher correlation with survival rate than that in young age. Therefore, it is considered that TSR is more closely related to survival rate than the telomere length. Based on the telomere dynamics and survival rates of 12 Korean native chicken breeds, it was concluded that the Rhode breed and Cornish breed had the highest and lowest vitality, respectively.