Association of H-FABP gene polymorphisms with intramuscular fat content in Three-yellow chickens and Hetian-black chickens

Yong Wang; Xiaohong Hui; Huie Wang; Tursunjan Kurban; Chao Hang; Ying Chen; Jinming Xing; Jiufeng Wang

doi:10.1186/s40104-016-0067-y

Association of H-FABP gene polymorphisms with intramuscular fat content in Three-yellow chickens and Hetian-black chickens

J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2016 Feb 18:7:9. doi: 10.1186/s40104-016-0067-y. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Yong Wang¹, Xiaohong Hui², Huie Wang², Tursunjan Kurban², Chao Hang², Ying Chen², Jinming Xing², Jiufeng Wang³

Affiliations

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China ; Key Laboratory of Tarim Animal Husbandry Science & Technology of Xinjiang Production and Construction Groups/College of Animal Science, Tarim University, Alar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 843300 China.
² Key Laboratory of Tarim Animal Husbandry Science & Technology of Xinjiang Production and Construction Groups/College of Animal Science, Tarim University, Alar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 843300 China.
³ College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China.

Abstract

Background: To explore the relationship between the heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) gene and intramuscular fat (IMF), a polymorphism of the second exon of the H-FABP gene was investigated in 60 Three-yellow chickens (TYCs) and 60 Hetian-black chickens (HTBCs).

Results: The IMF contents of the cardiac, chest and leg muscles in HTBC were increased compared with TYC. Both TYC and HTBC populations exhibited Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) according to the χ(2) test. Three variations of the two birds were detected, namely, G939A, G982A and C1014T. HTBCs with the TT genotypes exhibit increased IMF content in the chest muscles compared with the TC genotype. Thus, the G982A site could be considered a genetic marker for selecting increased IMF content in the chest muscles of HTBC. The correlation coefficients revealed that H-FABP mRNA expression was negatively correlated with the IMF content in the cardiac, chest and leg muscles of HTBC and in the cardiac and chest muscles of TYC. The relative mRNA expression of H-FABP was reduced in the cardiac and leg muscles of HTBC compared with TYC, but this difference was not observed at the protein level, as assessed by Western blot analysis.

Conclusions: These findings offer essential data that can be useful in the breeding program of HTBC and future research exploring the role of H-FABP in IMF deposition and regulation in chickens.

Keywords: H-FABP; Hetian-black Chicken; Polymorphism; Three-yellow Chicken; mRNA Expression.