SNP of A-FABP Gene Relating to Meat Productivity of Muscovy Ducks

The distribution of single nucleotides in the A-FABP gene of Muscovy ducks was believed to closely related to the meat productivity of the duck. This study applied PCR-SSCP to unveil the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)of the ducks that were genetically varied. Then, these SNPs were corrected to the body weight, slaughtering property and meat quality of the ducks. The results showed that the SNP of A-C was at the 201^st site in the intron 2 of the A-FABP gene, and the mutation formed the genotypes, AA, AB and BB. The allele frequencies of A and B were determined to be 0.824 1 and 0.175 9, respectively. The homozygosity was 0.710 0 in the duck population; and, the polymorphic information content(PIC), 0.247 9.Other than the 2-and 4-week-old ducks, the individual weight of AA males was significantly higher than that of AB males, and no significant difference on the female ducks. The weights of live bird, slaughtered carcass, dressed carcass, half-eviscerated carcass, eviscerated carcass, breast meat, and abdominal fat, as well as the percentage of abdominal fat of a male duck differed significantly depending upon the genotypes, as those of the AB genotype being lower than those of the AA genotype. For the female ducks, only the weight and percentage of abdominal fat were significantly lower in the AB than AA genotype. The SNP of A201C in the intron 2 of the A-FABP gene played an important role on the abdominal fat deposit and body weight of a male Muscovy duck.