DNA FINGERPRINT BANDS APPLIED TO LINKAGE ANALYSIS WITH QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI IN CHICKENS

An efficient approach to detect association between quantitative trait s and bands of DNA fingerprint patterns uses intra-family tail analysi s, which compares fingerprints of DNA mixes from individuals at the tw o tails of a phenotypic distribution. In analysis of 67 paternal half- sibs of a meat-type chicken family, of 57 sire bands generated by two probes, one sire-specific band (S6-6) was associated with abdominal fa t deposition. The band effect was estimated by a linear model analysis to be 0.88 standard deviations, or about 30% of the family mean. The association between band S6.6 and abdominal fat was further examined b y testing progeny of paternal half-sibs of the chickens which were use d in the tail analysis, establishing genetic linkage between the DNA m arker and a genetic locus affecting abdominal fat deposition.