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Chronological Expression of PITX2 and SIX1 Genes and the Association between Their Polymorphisms and Chicken Meat Quality Traits

Authors :
Haiyue Cao
Wei Zhou
Yuge Tan
Xiuli Xu
Haiguang Mao
Xinyang Dong
Ningying Xu
Zhaozheng Yin
Source :
Animals, Vol 11, Iss 2, p 445 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Meat quality is closely related to the development of skeletal muscle, in which PITX2 and SIX1 genes play important regulatory roles. The present study firstly provided the data of chronological expression files of PITX2 and SIX1 genes in the post-hatching pectoral muscle and analyzed the association of their polymorphisms with the meat quality traits of Wuliang Mountain Black-bone (WLMB) chickens. The results showed that both PITX2 and SIX1 genes were weakly expressed in the second and third weeks, and then increased significantly from the third week to the fourth week. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between the expression levels of the two genes. Twelve and one SNPs were detected in the chicken PITX2 and SIX1 genes, respectively, of which four SNPs (g.9830C > T, g.10073C > T, g.13335G > A, g.13726A > G) of the PITX2 gene and one SNP (g.564G > A) of the SIX1 gene were significantly associated with chicken meat quality traits. For the PITX2 gene, chickens with the CT genotype of g.9830C > T showed the highest meat color L*, shear force (SF), pH, and the lowest electrical conductivity (EC), and drip loss (DL) (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01); chickens with the CC genotype of g.10073C > T had the lowest L*, pH, and the highest DL (p < 0.01). For the SIX1 gene, chickens with the GG genotype of g.564G > A had the highest (p < 0.05) SF and pH. Furthermore, pH had a significant correlation with all the other meat quality traits. The current study could contribute to the research of regulatory mechanisms of meat quality and lay the foundation for improving meat quality based on marker-assisted selection in chickens.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20762615
Volume :
11
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Animals
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1ce16cbd235648cc8a3d6d29ff32b261
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020445