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Abstract
1. A genome scan was performed to locate genomic regions associated with traits that are known to vary in birds (most commonly broilers) suffering from heart, lung or muscular dysfunction and for weight of the dressed carcass and some internal organs.
2. The F2 population studied was derived from a cross between a broiler and a layer line and consisted of over 460 birds that were genotyped for 101 markers.
3. There was strong support for segregation of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for carcass and organ weights and blood variables. We identified 11 genome-wide significant QTL (most of them for dressed carcass weight) and several genome-wide suggestive QTL.
4. The results point to some genome regions that may be associated with health-related traits and merit further study, with the final aim of identifying linked genetic markers that could be used in commercial breeding programmes to decrease the incidence of muscular and metabolic disorders in broiler populations.
Acknowledgements
The research project was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now DEFRA) and the European Union. P.N. is grateful to Aviagen Ltd and BBSRC for funding. P.M.V. and C.S.H. acknowledge support from BBSRC and S.A.K. from the Royal Society. We thank Graeme Robertson, Martin Maxwell, Robert Bernard, Bob Paton, Estelle Bailey, Dawn Windsor and other colleagues that assisted with data collection, and Xijiang Yu for map preparation.