CHICKEN GROWTH HORMONE POLYMORPHIC VARIATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ECONOMIC TRAITS– A REVIEW

Abstract

The classical approaches to the detection of genetic differences in farm animals have been mostly based on the use of blood proteins (protein in blood plasma and serum) and blood groups. More recently, DNA polymorphisms have become popular in the genetic characterization of farm animals. This has helped in the study of polymorphism of the genes encoding hormones and their receptors, as well as their association with economic traits. The chicken Growth Hormone (GH) gene plays a crucial role in controlling growth and metabolism, leading to potential correlations between GH polymorphism and economic traits in animals.The allelic variants of functional genes are a result of different modifications of nucleotide composition such as point mutations (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism-SNP), insertions/deletions and soon. Polymorphism identification and subsequent study of its relationship with productivity characters will provide a basis for further targeted breeding which is fully applicable to the poultry farming and other farm animal species. This correlation could be used as a basis for selection and genetic improvement of farm animals.