Abstract
Myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. We evaluated effects of myostatin polymorphisms in three elite commercial broiler chicken lines on mortality, growth, feed conversion efficiency, ultrasound breast depth, breast percentage, eviscerated carcass weight, leg defects, blood oxygen level, and hen antibody titer to infectious bursal disease virus vaccine. Progeny mean data adjusted for fixed and mate effects and DNA from 100 sires per line were used. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the myostatin gene segregating in these lines were identified by designing specific primers, amplifying individual DNA in each line by polymerase chain reaction, cloning, sequencing and aligning the corresponding products. Individual sires were genotyped for five identified SNPs which contributed to eight haplotypes. Frequencies of SNP alleles and haplotypes differed between lines. Using the allele substitution effect model, the myostatin SNPs were found to have significant (P < 0.031) associations with growth, mortality, blood oxygen and hen antibody titer to infectious bursal disease virus vaccine, although the associations were not often consistent across lines. These results suggest that the myostatin gene has pleiotropic effects on broiler performance.
Highlights
Myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily and highly conserved in gene structure among vertebrate species [15, 16]
Nine additional traits were recorded in the high hygiene environment (HH) environment: ultrasound breast depth (US), percentage of breast (BR), feed conversion efficiency (FCR), eviscerated carcass weight (EV), three leg-defect related traits [twisted legs or evident tibial dischondroplasya (Leg), X-ray-inspection-based sub-clinical or incipient development of tibial dischondroplasya (Lixi), and curly or crooked toes and/or bowed legs (Tobo)], and blood oxygen content measured by pulse oximeter (Oxi) and female’s antibody titer to infectious bursal disease at 27 wks (IBD)
Thirteen Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the amplified regions of exons 1, 2 and 3 and introns 1 and 2 in myostatin gene
Summary
Myostatin is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily and highly conserved in gene structure among vertebrate species [15, 16]. Baron et al [1] identified seven SNPs and one deletion in exon 2 of the myostatin gene in broiler and/or layer chicken lines. Several studies have reported that myostatin negatively regulates skeletal muscle growth. A loss-of-function mutation in the myostatin gene causes double muscling phenotypes in Belgian Blue and Piedmontese cattle [17]. Myostatin negatively regulates activation of satellite cells that promote postnatal muscle growth and repair in mice [16]. Overexpression of myostatin during infection with chronic infectious respiratory diseases has been shown to reduce skeletal muscle growth in pigs [7]. A loss-of-function mutation in the myostatin gene in children increases muscle bulk and strength [21]
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