Identification of QTL for live weight and growth rate using DNA markers on chromosome 3 in an F2 population of Japanese quail

Abstract

The Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) is an important agricultural species and is an animal model for genetic researches. This study was conducted to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting live weight and growth rate on chromosome 3 in quail. Two strains of Japanese quail including wild and white were crossed reciprocally and F1 generation was created. The birds from F2 generation were measured for growth traits and all of 472 birds (8 pairs from the parental strains, 34 F1 birds and 422 F2 birds) were genotyped for microsatellite markers on chromosome 3. The results indicated chromosome wide significant QTL for hatching weight (P < 0.01) and weight at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of age, average daily gain from hatch to 1, 1-2 and 3-4 weeks of age and Kleiber ratio (P < 0.05), an indirect criterion of feed efficiency. The highest QTL additive and imprinting effects (2.72 and 0.79 % of the trait variation in the F2 population, respectively) were related to hatching weight. The identified QTL for this trait (at 7 cM relative to the centromeric region of the chromosome) had significant interaction with sex and hatch (P < 0.01). The dominance effect of QTL was significant (P < 0.05) for bodyweight at one week of age accounting for 1.69 % of the trait variation in the F2 population.

Composition of the ileum microbiota is a mediator between the host genome and phosphorus utilization and other efficiency traits in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

“…To date, only a few QTL studies have been conducted in quail [18,[47][48][49], with QTL mapped for different behavioral and performance traits. However, several authors have investigated host QTL for microbial colonization of the GIT in other species.…”

Assessment of genetic diversity and genetic relationships of farm and laboratory quail populations in Japan using microsatellite DNA markers

“…Microsatellite markers for Japanese quail were developed comprehensively in previous studies (Kayang et al, 2000(Kayang et al, , 2002(Kayang et al, , 2004(Kayang et al, , 2006Mannen et al, 2005). They have been used to discover gene loci associated with plumage colour, body weight, meat quality and egg production (Minvielle et al, 2005(Minvielle et al, , 2006Miwa et al, 2005;Ori, Esmailizadeh, Charati, Mohammadabadi, & Sohrabi, 2014;Rezvannejad, Yaghoobi, & Rashki, 2014;Tavaniello et al, 2014;Moradian et al, 2016;Knaga et al, 2018); however, the chromosomal position of these markers had remained undetermined. We recently developed more than 100 microsatellite DNA markers from Japanese quail based on the whole-genome sequence, covering chromosomes 1 to 28 and the Z and W sex chromosomes (Kawahara-Miki et al, 2013).…”

Genome-Wide Association Study Revealed Putative SNPs and Candidate Genes Associated with Growth and Meat Traits in Japanese Quail

“…For quail, these studies have also been conducted but are much less advanced (e.g., [ 28 ]). A number of studies have reported the relationship between microsatellite markers and indicators of quail growth [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], development [ 32 ], meat quality [ 33 ], and egg productivity [ 34 ]. Among the disadvantages of this microsatellite-assisted approach, certain complications in mapping and identifying the respective genes should be noted.…”