Genome wide association study for Ascites Syndrome in F2 crosses of Azerbaijan native fowls and Arian broiler line

Ascites Syndrome is a costly metabolic disorder that has been linked to intense selection on growth rate and low feed conversion ratio in broilers. This Syndrome has become one of the most frequent causes of mortality within the broiler industry and leads to substantial economic losses and reduced animal welfare. To identify genes and genomic regions associated with Ascites Syndrome, genome wide association study was performed by the chicken 60K SNP panel on 101 birds from a F2 chicken population derived from the reciprocal cross between Arian broiler Line and Azerbaijan native fowls. Genomic best linear unbiased prediction procedure was used to calculate associations between each SNP and ascite related traits. Several SNPsfor the ratio of right ventricular to total ventricular, an indicator for Ascites syndrome, reached the suggestive threshold (8.25×10-5) on chromosome 7. Two SNPs detected within CCDC141 and OSBPL6 genes were previously reported for human heart disorder. There are a large number of genes in this region (12745561-14602723) on chicken chromosome 7 that are related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, heart rate and human heart disorder. Selection for ascites resistance in broiler chicken using these findings could accelerate the genetic progress.