QTL analyses for meat-related traits of chickens using SNP markers developed by RAD-seq. Gallus gallus

Meat-related traits such as body weight, muscle weight, and meat quality are important factors for broiler industry. These traits show continuous values that are thought to be controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Detection of the chromosomal positions of QTLs will lead to marker- and gene-assisted selection of chickens in the future. To identify the chromosomal positions of QTLs, QTL analysis is one of the effective methods. To perform QTL analysis, DNA markers are necessary, and microsatellite DNA markers have been widely used to accomplish this purpose so far. However, using microsatellite DNA markers is not enough to detect candidate genes. Thus, nowadays, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are widely used in QTL analyses because of their abundance in the genome. Restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) is one of the powerful methods to rapidly and economically detect SNP markers by using a next generation sequencer. In this project, therefore, we developed a large number of SNP markers using the RAD-seq technique to perform QTL analyses for meat-related traits of chickens.