Association of growth traits with a structural variation downstream of the KCNJ11 gene: a large population-based study in chickens

ABSTRACT

1. The potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 gene (KCNJ11) is involved in the insulin secretion pathway. Studies have shown that mutation in this gene is associated with muscle weakness. The objective of the present study was to establish the association between KCNJ11 gene polymorphism and chicken growth performance and to analyse its expression pattern.

2. A novel 163-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism was identified in the region downstream of the KCNJ11 gene in 2330 individuals from ten populations by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). An F₂ resource population was used to investigate the genetic effects of the chicken KCNJ11 gene. Association analysis showed that the indel was significantly associated with chicken growth traits and that the phenotypic value of the ins-ins (II) genotype is higher than that of the ins-del (ID) and del-del (DD) genotypes.

3. Gene expression for different genotypes showed that birds carrying the II allele had a higher expression level than the DD genotypes. Analysis of tissue and spatiotemporal expression patterns indicated that the KCNJ11 gene was highly expressed in muscle tissues, with the highest levels in muscle tissue at one week of age, and that a 10% crude protein diet reduced the expression of this gene, average daily gain and muscle fibre diameter.

4. The results suggested that this novel 163-bp indel has the potential to become a new target for marker-assisted selection.

KEYWORDS:

• KCNJ11
• indel
• growth trait
• gene expression
• chicken

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NSFC-Henan joint grant (U1804107), NSFC-Henan joint grant (U1704233) and the Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-Industry Technology Research Systems (No. CARS-40-K04).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics statement

All procedures on animals were conducted in accordance with the guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals issued by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Henan Agricultural University (Permit Number: 11-0085).

Supplementary materials

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the NSFC-Henan joint grant [U1804107]; Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-Industry Technology Research Systems [No. CARS-40-K04].