Association between ACTA1 candidate gene and performance, organs and carcass traits in broilers.

Area of Science:

• Animal Genetics
• Quantitative Genetics
• Poultry Science

Background:

• Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is crucial for enhancing economically important traits in broiler chickens.
• Identifying specific genes associated with performance traits can significantly improve breeding programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the genetic association of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ACTA1 gene with various performance, organ, and carcass traits in broilers.
• To evaluate the potential of the ACTA1 gene as a molecular marker for MAS in broiler breeding.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of genetic and phenotypic data from 1,400 broilers across 68 traits.
• Utilized maximum likelihood and restricted maximum likelihood methods with mixed animal models.
• Included fixed effects (sex, hatch) and random effects (polygenic, additive genetic, residual error).

Main Results:

• The ACTA1 gene SNP was significantly associated (P<0.05) with body weight at 35 days (BW35), liver yield (LIVY), breast meat yield (BMY), drumstick skin weight (DSW), drumstick weight (DW), and breast weight (BW).
• Heritability estimates for associated traits ranged from 0.24±0.06 (LIVY) to 0.45±0.08 (BW35).
• High genetic correlation was observed between BW35 and body weight at 42 days (BW42) (0.97±0.01).

Conclusions:

• The ACTA1 gene is a significant molecular marker associated with crucial broiler performance traits, including BW35, LIVY, BMY, DSW, DW, and BW.
• The ACTA1 gene can be effectively integrated into MAS strategies to enhance economically important traits in broiler populations.
• This research contributes to the development of more efficient broiler breeding programs through genetic marker utilization.