Objective To investigate the effect of BMP6 gene polymorphism on growth and slaughter traits of Yuexi Frizzled Feather chicken.

Method A total of 120 Yuexi Frizzled Feather chickens were used as experimental materials. Specific primers were designed for the exon fragment of the BMP6 gene. The SNP sites were detected by direct sequencing of PCR products. The single factor analysis of variance was used to analyze the associations of genotypes with growth and slaughter traits for each SNP site.

Result Seven SNP sites were detected in the exon region of BMP6 gene in Yuexi Frizzled Feather chicken, among which g.64185950 T>C, g.64195411 G>A and g.64195613 C>T were in the coding sequence region, and all these three SNPs were synonymous mutations. The results of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test showed that g.64195833 T>A significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.05) in the Yuexi Frizzled Feather chicken. The results of association analysis between genotypes and growth traits showed that, in cocks, the shank bone length in CC genotype of g.64195613 C>T site was significantly higher than that of TT genotype (P<0.05), and in hens, the keel length in AA genotype of g.64195411 G>A site was significantly higher than that of AG genotype (P<0.05), the tibia length in CC genotype of g.64196373 T>C site was significantly higher than that of CT genotype (P<0.01), the tibia length in CT genotype of g.64196735 T>C site was significantly higher than that of TT genotype (P<0.05). The results of association analysis between genotypes and slaughter traits showed that, in cocks, the live weight in CC genotype of g.64196735 T>C site was significantly higher than that of CT genotype (P<0.05), and in hens, the abdominal fat rate in CC genotype of g.64195613 C>T site was significantly higher than that of CT genotype (P<0.05), and the half-bore weight rate in CC genotype of g.64196373 T>C site was significantly higher than that of CT genotype (P<0.05).

Conclusion The BMP6 gene polymorphisms are associated with some growth and slaughter traits, which can be used as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in Yuexi Frizzled Feather chicken.