EFFECT OF MYOSTATIN GENE POLYMORPHISM ON BODY WEIGHT AND CARCASS TRAITS OF WHITE PLUMAGE NIGERIAN TURKEY

Résumé

The myostatin gene is a candidate gene whose biological function has been known to influence muscle growth and carcass traits in avian class. Our objective was to determine the association between gene polymorphism and growth traits in White Plumage Indigenous Turkey (WPIT). Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood of 93 WPIT. At 21 weeks, WPIT were slaughtered for carcass traits. Specific primers for WPIT were used for amplification of a 700 base segment. Alleles A and B corresponding to genotypes AA, AB and BB were detected at the locus tested. Significant (P>0.05) associations were recorded for all the genotypes detected with bodyweights of the population utilized at weeks 5, 13, 15, 17 and 19 but at 21 week, bodyweights of homozygote BB genotypes were higher than those of AA and AB genotypes. No significant associations (P>0.05) with carcass traits like liver, full gizzard weight, empty gizzard weight, spleen, heart weight, neck weight, defeathered weight, eviscerated weight and dressed weight. The products amplified displayed polymorphism and the variation in exon2 of myostatin gene may be a molecular marker for superior growth in the WPIT populations utilized.