Association of G274A and A427G polymorphisms of MC1R gene with feather color traits in Chaona chickens

In order to study the association between G274A and A427G polymorphism of melanocortin 1 receptor（MC1R） gene and feather color traits in local Chaona chickens in Ningxia, 150 healthy Chaona chickens（including 50 red feather, 50 black feather and 50 white feather chickens） aged 120 days were selected as the experimental subjects. High resolution melting（HRM） analysis technology was used to detect the genotypes of G274A and A427G loci in Chaona chickens, and the association between genotypes and feather color traits was analyzed. The results showed that GG, GA and AA genotypes were found at the G274A locus of MC1R gene in the Chona chicken population. Among them, the number of AA genotype individuals was the largest, allele A was the dominant allele, and PIC was 0.286 7, showing moderate polymorphism（0.25≤PIC≤0.50）, indicating a high breeding potential in the Chona chicken population with MC1R gene locus G274A. Two genotypes, AA and AG, were found at G274A locus, among which AA genotype was the most abundant, allele A was the dominant allele, and PIC was 0.062 3, showing low polymorphism（PIC＜0.25）. These two sites were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium（P＞0.05）. There was a significant difference in feather color traits among different genotypes at G274A locus（P＜0.05）, there was no GG genotype in black feather population. The number of GG genotype individuals was less than that of GA and AA genotype individuals in red and white feather populations. The AA genotype was the dominant genotype in the red and black feather populations. There were very significant differences in feather color traits among different genotypes at A427G locus（P＜0.01）. GG genotypes were not found in the three feather populations, and AA genotype were found in the red feather populations. and the number of AA genotype individuals were more than that of AG genotype in black and white feather populations. The results indicated that the G274A and A427G polymorphic loci of MC1R gene could be used as genetic markers for the purification of feather color in breed purity identification and molecular breeding of Chaona chickens.