Meat quality is closely related to the fat deposition which is regulated by a cascade of transcription factors. As a transcription factor, the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (CEBPA) is considered as one of the key molecules regulating adipogenesis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to detect the expression pattern of the CEBPA gene and evaluate whether its single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with the meat quality traits in Wuliang Mountain Black-bone (WLMB) chickens. The results showed that the chicken CEBPA mRNA was widely expressed in the 11 tissues, and the expression pattern of it might be tissue- and time-specific different. The locus of g.74C > G was not significantly associated with chicken meat quality. For the locus of g.552G > A, chickens with the GG genotype showed higher pH (p < 0.01), lower drip loss (p < 0.01) and higher intramuscular fat (p < 0.05) than those with other genotypes. It suggested that polymorphisms of the CEBPA gene were significantly associated with the meat quality traits of WLMB chickens. The results of this study contribute to the functional research of the CEBPA gene and lay the foundation for improving meat quality based on the marker-assisted selection in chickens.

肉质与脂肪沉积密切相关，脂肪的沉积受一系列转录因子的调节。作为转录因子，CCAAT /增强子结合蛋白α（CEBPA）被认为是调节脂肪形成的关键分子之一。因此，本研究的目的是检测CEBPA基因的表达模式，并评估其单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）是否与五粮山黑骨（WLMB）鸡的肉质性状相关。结果表明，鸡肉CEBPAmRNA在11种组织中广泛表达，其表达方式可能在组织和时间上不同。g.74C> G的位点与鸡肉质量没有显着相关。对于g.552G> A的基因座，与其他基因型的鸡相比，GG基因型的鸡显示更高的pH（p  <0.01），更低的滴水损失（p  <0.01）和更高的肌内脂肪（p  <0.05）。这表明CEBPA基因的多态性与WLMB鸡的肉质性状显着相关。这项研究的结果为CEBPA基因的功能研究做出了贡献，并为基于标记的鸡肉选择提高了肉质奠定了基础。