Polymorphisms of the PNPLA3 gene and their associations with chicken growth and carcass traits.

1. An F2 resource population of Gushi chickens crossed with Anka broilers was used to investigate the genetic effects of the chicken PNPLA3 gene on growth and adipose accumulation. 2. Associations between three SNPs (g.40006G > T, g.42344T > C and g.42404A > T) and broiler traits were determined using linkage disequilibrium, haplotype construction and association analysis. 3. The g.40006G > T mutation was associated with body weights at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age, carcass weight, evisceration weight and semi-evisceration weight (P < 0.05). 4. Haplotypes of the g.42344T > C and g.42404A > T mutations were associated with body weight at 12 weeks, carcass weight, evisceration weight, and semi-evisceration weight (P < 0·05) and were associated with significant dominance effects. 5. The results suggest that the PNPLA3 gene may be in linkage with the causative mutation or a QTL controlling growth traits in chickens. In contrast to human studies, the polymorphisms were not associated with fat related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]