Discovery of a SNP in exon 7 of the lipoprotein lipase gene and its association with fatness traits in native and Cherry Valley Peking ducks.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is a multifunctional protein, playing a major role in the hydrolysis of triglycerides in chylomicrons and very low-density lipoproteins. This study was designed to investigate the effects of variants in exon 7 of the LPL gene on duck growth and fatness traits. Two populations (native and Cherry Valley Peking duck populations) were used in this study. Growth and fatness traits were measured in them. Primers for exon 7 of the LPL gene were designed from chicken genomic and cDNA sequences. Polymorphisms were detected by DNA sequencing, and a PCR-SSCP method was developed to genotype the two populations. The results showed one novel polymorphism: a synonymous alteration in exon 7 of the LPL gene (c.91C>T; EU834120 and EU834121). It was associated with abdominal fat weight and percentage of abdominal fat weight of native Peking duck and with percentage of subcutaneous fat plus skin weight and abdominal fat weight of Cherry Valley Peking duck. The alteration in exon 7 of LPL may be linked with potential major loci or genes affecting some fatness traits.