Association of HSPB1 and CRYAB SNPs with chicken meat quality and robustness in five lines of Korean native chicken

Abstract

The clinical chemical traits of blood serum are important biomarkers that can be used to investigate health and metabolic status, both of which can affect meat quality traits. In this study, the SNPs in the genes HSPB1 (g. 526A > G; 5'UTR) and CRYAB (g. 2471T > C; exon 2) were investigated via an association analysis with meat quality and clinical chemical traits. In total, 597 native Korean chickens were included in the study. There were no significant associations between the SNP in CRYAB and either meat quality or serum traits. On the other hand, the SNP in HSPB1 was significantly associated (P<0.05) with water holding capacity (WHC), lightness (L*), and yellowness (b*) of the thigh muscle. In addition, two clinical chemical traits, high density lipoprotein (HDL-c) and amylase (Amy), were significantly associated with this SNP. Of these, the WHC, L*, and b* values of the thigh muscle have the dominant effects only, while Amy trait exhibits both additive and dominant effects. These results can provide useful information that can facilitate the improvement of chicken meat quality, and the understanding of the relationship between blood metabolism and meat quality.