Endogenous viral loci, designated as avian leukosis virus subgroup E (ALVE), have been found in the genome of commercial chickens. They sometimes modulate the host physiologic processes by changing the expression level of host promoters near an integration site. Therefore, the identification of ALVE locus is necessary for chickens representing abnormal production traits such as body weight and egg production. In this report, an ALVE element is commonly identified in the genome of a laying chickens aged 13 weeks and a Korean native chickens aged 10 weeks showing emaciation using an nested inverse PCR. This element locates near four putative host promoters and body weight related quantitative trait loci (QTL), which can induce body weight change in chickens. In conclusion, we newly report the role of an ALVE element for emaciation of laying and Korean native chickens without the presence of pathogens.

Key words: Emaciation, Endogenous avian leukosis virus, Korean native chicken, Laying chicken, Quantitative trait loci