title: Quantitative trait loci  associated with body weight and abdominal fat traits on chicken chromosomes 3,  5 and 7.
abstract: Body  weight and abdominal fat traits in meat-type chickens are complex and  economically important factors. Our objective was to identify quantitative  trait loci (QTL) responsible for body weight and abdominal fat traits in  broiler chickens. The Northeast Agricultural University Resource Population  (NEAURP) is a cross between broiler sires and Baier layer dams. We measured  body weight and abdominal fat traits in the F(2) population.  A total of 362 F(2) individuals derived from four F(1) families  and their parents and F(0) birds were  genotyped using 29 fluorescent microsatellite markers located on chromosomes 3,  5 and 7. Linkage maps for the three chromosomes were constructed and interval  mapping was performed to identify putative QTLs. Nine QTL for body weight were  identified at the 5% genome-wide level, while 15 QTL were identified at the 5%  chromosome-wide level. Phenotypic variance explained by these QTL varied from  2.95 to 6.03%. In particular, a QTL region spanning 31 cM, associated with body  weight at 1 to 12 weeks of age and carcass weight at 12 weeks of age, was first  identified on chromosome 5. Three QTLs for the abdominal fat traits were  identified at the 5% chromosome-wide level. These QTLs explained 3.42 to 3.59%  of the phenotypic variance. This information will help direct prospective fine  mapping studies and can facilitate the identification of underlying genes and  causal mutations for body weight and abdominal fat traits.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, PR China.
authors.forename: S Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: X X
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Z P
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: X C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Q G
authors.initials: QG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Z Q
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000235:genetics*; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D005819:Genetic Markers; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers