Myopalladin gene polymorphism is associated with rabbit meat quality traits

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the polymorphism in the Myopalladin (MYPN) gene on meat quality traits in the Hyla, Champagne, Tianfu Black rabbit breeds using PCR and DNA sequencing. A novel SNP (g.18497416 G > A) was found at 229 bp in exon 13 of chromosome 18. The three rabbit populations had intermediate levels of genetic diversity according to their polymorphism information content values. The statistical analysis indicated that rabbits with the GG genotype had a significantly greater a*24h and b*24h than rabbits with the AA genotype (p < .05) in the longissimus dorsi muscle and that animals with the AA genotype had substantially higher a*0h and a*24h than those with the AG genotype (p < .05) in the biceps femoris muscle. The rabbits with the AA genotype had the highest intramuscular fat (IMF) values and those with the GG genotype had the lowest IMF values in both longissimus dorsi and biceps femoris muscles. These results indicated that MYPN could be considered as candidate genes for genetic improvement of rabbit meat traits.