Myostatin Gene Polymorphisms and their Relationships with Growth Parameters of Broiler Chickens

Abstract

This experiment was designed to investigate the relationship between Myostatin (MSTN) gene polymorphisms and growth parameters in Ross 308, Cobb 500, Arbor Acres (AA) and Arbor Acres Plus (AAP). Two-hundred-day-old chicks were raised under similar conditions. Body weight (BDW), chest girth (CG) and thigh length (TL) were measured at day-old, six and twelve weeks in the randomly selected birds. At 12th week, blood samples were collected via brachial vein of forty birds for DNA extraction. Amplicons were visualized on 1% agarose gel. The amplified products of exon 1 were sequenced and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using codon code aligner.
The result revealed larger SNPs with Ross 308 exhibiting the highest number (eleven SNPs) followed by AA with six, AAP and Cobb 500 with five each. Significant (P<0.05) effects of SNPs on growth parameters were observed across strains. Adenine at 65A>G in AA and guanine at 64A>G in AAP were linked to higher BDW. In Cobb 500, guanine at 55A>G was associated with superior BDW and CG while Ross 308 showed the most extensive polymorphism with Adenine influencing higher BDW almost at all the loci. These findings confirmed the role of MSTN gene polymorphisms in modulating growth performance in broilers. Thus, Ross 308 is considered the most suitable strain due to its greater frequency of beneficial Myostatin alleles, which are linked to improved growth characteristics and a higher growth rate.