Relationship Between Combined Genotypes of UCP Gene and Growth Traits in Chickens

The uncoupling protein (UCP) is a member of the mitochondrial membrane transporter family, which plays an important role in energy metabolism. In the present study, the UCP gene was considered as a candidate gene for chicken growth traits, and the association of UCP gene SNPs with growth rate was investigated in the eighth generation of NEAUHLF broiler lines. Two SNPs were found in chicken UCP gene, and the association analysis results showed that both the individual and combination of chicken UCP gene SNPs were significantly associated with body weight of 7 weeks (BW7) and carcass weight (CW) (P<0.05), and the combination had much significant effects than the single SNP. This research suggested that the UCP gene could be a candidate gene or linked to a major gene which affected growth traits in chicken.