1. The potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily J member 11 gene (KCNJ11) is involved in the insulin secretion pathway. Studies have shown that mutation in this gene is associated with muscle weakness. The objective of the present study was to establish the association between KCNJ11 gene polymorphism and chicken growth performance and to analyse its expression pattern.

2. A novel 163-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism was identified in the region downstream of the KCNJ11 gene in 2330 individuals from ten populations by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). An F₂ resource population was used to investigate the genetic effects of the chicken KCNJ11 gene. Association analysis showed that the indel was significantly associated with chicken growth traits and that the phenotypic value of the ins-ins (II) genotype is higher than that of the ins-del (ID) and del-del (DD) genotypes.

3. Gene expression for different genotypes showed that birds carrying the II allele had a higher expression level than the DD genotypes. Analysis of tissue and spatiotemporal expression patterns indicated that the KCNJ11 gene was highly expressed in muscle tissues, with the highest levels in muscle tissue at one week of age, and that a 10% crude protein diet reduced the expression of this gene, average daily gain and muscle fibre diameter.

4. The results suggested that this novel 163-bp indel has the potential to become a new target for marker-assisted selection.

1.钾电压门控通道亚家族J成员11基因（KCNJ11）参与胰岛素分泌途径。研究表明，该基因的突变与肌肉无力有关。本研究的目的是建立KCNJ11基因多态性与鸡生长性能之间的关联并分析其表达模式。

2.通过聚合酶链式反应 (PCR) 在来自 10 个种群的 2330 个个体的KCNJ11基因下游区域鉴定出一种新的 163 bp 插入/缺失 (indel) 多态性。使用F ₂资源种群研究鸡KCNJ11基因的遗传效应。关联分析表明，indel与鸡生长性状显着相关，ins-ins(II)基因型的表型值高于ins-del(ID)和del-del(DD)基因型。

3.不同基因型的基因表达表明携带II等位基因的鸟类比DD基因型的表达水平更高。组织和时空表达模式分析表明，KCNJ11基因在肌肉组织中高表达，一周龄时肌肉组织中的表达水平最高，10%粗蛋白饮食降低了该基因的表达，平均日增重和肌纤维直径。

4. 结果表明，这种新的 163 bp 插入缺失有可能成为标记辅助选择的新目标。