Abstract
Efficiency of meat production in rabbits relies on post-weaning growth rate, that, for practical reasons, is recorded indirectly as market weight (finishing weight). This parameter has a low-medium heritability as it is largely affected by common litter effects. Therefore, it could be interesting to identify DNA markers associated with this performance trait that can represent useful tools to be applied in marker assisted selection (MAS). We used a candidate gene approach and re-sequenced 1337bp of the growth hormone (GH1) gene in 14 rabbits of different breeds. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the 5′-flanking region, c.-78C>T and c.-33A>G. The former was genotyped by PCR-RFLP in a group of rabbits of ten different breeds and in a performance tested population for which weight at 70 days was recorded. Association analysis with the recorded trait indicated that the c.-78C>T genotypes were significantly associated with finishing weight (P=0.0133). Least square means±standard errors of the three genotypes were as follows: genotype CC=2720.04±33.91g; CT=2778.83±31.76g; and TT=2693.94±36.18g. Rabbits with genotype CT reached a higher weight at 70 days than those with genotype TT (P=0.0078) or genotype CC (P=0.0456) supporting overdominance. In this population, the two alleles of this SNP had almost the same frequency. This could be due to the advantage of the heterozygous genotype compared to both homozygous genotypes, that, in turn, may act in maintaining this balanced allele frequency in a population that is strongly selected towards increased marked weight. Before applying this SNP in MAS it will be important to confirm its effect on market weight and to exclude possible negative effects on other economic traits. Based on what is already known in other species, several other candidate genes can be investigated to identify polymorphisms and apply them in tailored MAS based breeding programs in rabbits.
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