ASSOCIATION OF SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS WITH PHENOTYPIC PRODUCTION TRAITS IN BROILER CHICKENS

Abstract

This research investigated the association between SNPs and phenotypic production traits in fat and lean chicken broiler lines. In previous research, eleven SNPs in the promoter regions of four candidate genes were selected. In this study, significant associations were detected between AKR1B10 SNP1 and SDC1 SNP1 and fat yield. SDC1 SNP1 was significantly associated with fat weight. SOD3 SNP2 was associated with breast yield. Five sire-SNP interactions and one sex-SNP interaction were significant. There was a significant interaction between sex and SDC1 SNP3 on muscle-related factor. GPC3 SNP1 interacted with time period on body weight from week 1 to week 9. QTLs on chromosomes 1, 3 and 4 for body fat were refined by incorporating these SNPs into QTL analysis. These genetic markers may be of great value for marker-assisted selection (MAS) for chickens with less abdominal fat as well as genetic markers for body fat accumulation in humans.