Epistatic Effects of Six Candidate Genes on Fatty Acid Composition in Korean Native Chicken

Abstract

Fatty acid composition is an important economic trait that affects meat flavor. Several genes that influence fatty acid composition in meat have been investigated. In a previous study, we identified 51 significant SNP × SNP interactions (<i>P</i>≤0.05) between nine SNPs of six candidate genes (<i>DEGS1</i>, <i>ELOVL6</i>, <i>FABP3</i>, <i>FABP4</i>, <i>FASN</i>, and <i>SCD</i>) on meat fatty acid composition in Korean native chicken. This study further investigated the patterns of the SNP × SNP interactions to understand how they affect the fatty acid content in thigh and breast meat of Korean native chicken. The significant epistatic effects of SNP combinations showed various patterns for each fatty acid trait. The results of this study suggest that the respective additive effects of each SNP on polygenic traits, such as fatty acid composition, should be considered in combination with the epistatic effect of SNP combinations in animal breeding programs. The findings of this study have provided new genetic information for improving meat quality, especially the fatty acid composition, of Korean native chicken.