Variation at the insulin-like growth factor 1 gene and its association with body weight traits in the chicken

Summary The insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is essential for normal embryonic and postnatal growth in mammals. In this study, a total of 342 F 2 individuals, derived from Broiler crossing to Baier layer (Northeast Agricultural University Resource Population, NEAURP), were used to investigate the associations of haplotypes in the chicken IGF1 (cIGF1) gene with body weight traits. Primers for the 5′‐flanking, exon 3 and 3′‐flanking regions of cIGF1 were designed according to chicken genome database. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between parental lines were detected by sequencing, and PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) and PCR single‐stranded‐conformation polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) methods were used to genotype the SNPs in the population. Haplotypes were constructed with the three SNPs detected. The association analysis showed that haplotypes based on three cIGF1 polymorphisms (c.‐366A>C, c.528G>A and c.*1024C>T) were associated with body weight traits, suggesting that cIGF1 or a tightly linked gene had effects on body weight in the chicken.