Identification of SNPS and candidate genes associated with abdominal fat deposition in quails (Coturnix japonica)

The rate of fat deposition, including abdominal fat, is one of the important indicators characterizing both meat performance and product quality, as well as the poultry welfare in general. This trait positively correlates with the bird’s rapid growth and largely depends not only on feeding and housing conditions, but also on genetic factors. Mostly, data on the genetic mechanisms that determine fat metabolism and fat deposition rate have been obtained in chickens; SNPs and candidate genes that determine the deposition of both intramuscular and abdominal fat have been identified. The number of similar studies on quail is relatively small. To date, there is not enough information in the specialized literature about quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that are reliably associated with fat metabolism indices in quails. The present work reports for the first time the identified SNPs that are highly significantly (p 2 model resource population. In the region of identified SNPs, candidate genes reliably associated with this trait were established. The objective of the study was to search for SNPs and identify candidate genes associated with abdominal fat deposition in quails. The studies were carried out on F2 males of the model resource population ( n = 146) obtained by crossing two quail breeds contrasting in growth rate and meat quality, Japanese (slow growth) and Texas (fast growth). F2 individuals were genotyped using the GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing) method. To identify associations between genome-wide genotyping data and the amount of abdominal fat, PLINK 1.9 software was used with accepted filter settings (geno 0.1, mind 0.1, maf 0.05). The threshold significance criterion was set to p 2 resource population of quail was characterized by high variability in the content of abdominal fat in the carcass. At the age of 56 days, this indicator varied from 0.01 to 10.46 g and averaged 2.41±0.16 g. Based on the GWAS (genome-wide association study) analysis, we identified 29 SNPs and 11 candidate genes located in the regions of these SNPs that were associated with abdominal fat deposition in quail. The determined SNPs are localized on chromosomes 1, 2, 7, 8, 17, 19, 21, 24 and 28. The candidate genes identified ( CNTN5 , GNAL , PDE1A , RBMS1 , PTPRF , SH3GLB2 , SLC27A4 , TRIM62 , IGSF9B , USHBP1 , and NR2F6 ) were established on chromosomes CJA1 (1 gene), CJA2 (1 gene), CJA7 (2 genes), CJA8 (1 gene), CJA17 (2 genes), CJA21 (1 gene), CJA24 (1 gene) and CJA28 (2 genes). The detected SNPs and candidate genes can serve as genetic markers in breeding programs to improve the meat quality of quails and reduce the fat content in carcasses.