Genome wide association study(GWAS) for body composition traits in a F2 population crosses of Arian broiler line and Azerbaijan native chicken

Body compositions in broiler are important economic traits. In order to identify loci associated with body composition traits, genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out in a chicken F2 population, derived from a reciprocal cross between Azerbaijan indigenous chickens and Aryan broiler line using Illumina 60K Chicken SNP Beadchip. For each bird, a total 6 traits including carcass weight, breast weight, drumstick and thigh weight and their percentage traits were recorded. The association between the identified SNPs and body composition traits was estimated by general linear model (GLM) and compressed mixed linear model (CMLM). A total of 22 SNPs were found in the genome-wide significance and suggestive levels. All detected SNPs were located in internal, upstream and/or downstream of candidate genes related to our studied traits. In conclusion, the identified candidate genes have molecular functions related to body composition traits. So, these candidate genes can be applied in the chicken breeding scheme.