Abstract:

The objective of this study was to confirm the polymorphism of GHR gene in Zhuanghe Dagu Chicken, and its genetic markers affecting meat performance traits. In this experiment, Zhuanghe Dagu Chickens were used to analyze the correlation between polymorphism of 5’ non-coding region of IGF-I gene by PCR-RFLP. The results showed that IGF-I was consisted of three genotypes (AA, AB and BB) and frequencies of the three genotypes were 0.445, 0.300 and 0.255 respectively. Frequencies of gene A and gene B were 0.595 and 0.405 respectively. Live weight, carcass weight, semi-eviscerated weight, eviscerated weight, leg muscle weight, average daily gain and ratio of feed and meat of chickens with BB genotype were significantly higher than those of AA and AB genotype (P<0.05), while no significant difference were found in other traits (P>0.05). In conclusion, BB genotype of IGF-I gene could significantly improved the meat performance of Zhuanghe Dagu Chickens, although further studies were required to determine its possibility as a gene marker for the meat performance traits of Zhuanghe Dagu Chicken.