Genome-wide association studies of meat quality traits in chickens: a review

Abstract

Chicken dominates meat consumption because it is low in fat and high in protein and has less or no religious and cultural barriers. Recently, meat quality traits have become the focus of the poultry industry more than ever. Currently, poultry farming is focusing on meat quality to satisfy meat consumer preferences, which are mostly based on high-quality proteins and a low proportion of saturated fatty acids. Meat quality traits are polygenic traits controlled by many genes. Thus, it is difficult to improve these traits using the conventional selection method because of their low to moderate heritability. These traits include pH, colour, drop loss, tenderness, intramuscular fat (IMF), water-holding capacity, flavour, and many others. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are an efficient genomic tool that identifies the genomic regions and potential candidate genes related to meat quality traits. Due to their impact on the economy, meat quality traits are used as selection criteria in breeding programs. Various genes and markers related to meat quality traits in chickens have been identified. In chickens, GWAS have been successfully done for intramuscular fat (IMF) content, ultimate pH (pHu) and meat and skin colour. Moreover, GWAS have identified 7, 4, 4 and 6 potential candidate genes for IMF, pHu, meat colour and skin colour, respectively. Therefore, the current review summarizes the significant genes identified by genome-wide association studies for meat quality traits in chickens.