Evaluation of SNPs in the chicken HMGA2 gene as markers for body weight gain

A QTL affecting body weight in chickens has been mapped to GGA1, between the markers GCT0006 and MCW0106. The gene HMGA2, which was previously identified as a candidate gene for determining body height in humans and mice, is also conspicuously close to the MCW0106 marker in chickens. Subsequently, 14 SNP markers of HMGA2 were genotyped in CAU chicken resource populations, and the associations between body weight and those SNP markers that displayed polymorphisms were analysed. Three SNPs (rs13849241, rs15231472 and rs13849381) were found to be significantly correlated with body weight in chickens (P < 0.05). Furthermore, haplotypes constructed based on these three SNPs were also discovered to be associated with body weight in chickens at the ages of 6, 7, 9 and 12 weeks. These results suggest that the chicken HMGA2 gene is indeed involved in body weight gain.