Abstract

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.

摘要

肉质与脂肪沉积密切相关，脂肪沉积受一系列转录因子的调控。作为一种转录因子，CCAAT/增强子结合蛋白α（CEBPA）被认为是调节脂肪生成的关键分子之一。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（SNP）是否与无量山乌骨鸡（WLMB）肉质性状相关。结果表明，鸡CEBPAmRNA在11个组织中广泛表达，其表达模式可能因组织特异性和时间特异性而异。g.74C > G的基因座与鸡肉品质无显着相关性。对于g.552G > A位点，GG基因型鸡的pH值（ p < 0.01  ）比其他基因型鸡表现出更高的pH值（ 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。本研究结果有助于CEBPA基因的功能研究，为基于标记辅助选择鸡的肉质改良奠定基础。