SNPs in minimal promoter of myostatin (GDF-8) gene and its association with body weight in broiler chicken

摘要

Myostatin (MSTN), a transforming growth factors ???2 (TGF-???2) family member, is an important regulator of muscle mass. While polymorphism in the coding region of MSTN is extensively studied, the genetic causes of transcriptional regulation are poorly understood. This study is targeted to identify variations in the promoter region of MSTN. This study revealed that the promoter region of the growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF-8) is highly polymorphic and the identified nucleotide variations were attributed to transition mutations in sequence. Out of three genotypes observed, the frequency of AA was significantly higher (0.63) followed by the frequencies of AB (0.28) and BB (0.09). Genotype BB had a significant effect on body weight at hatching implicating the role of the identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the chicks muscle development.