[Study of MHC polymorphism and its linkage to IGF1 gene in Khorasan indigenous chicken]

ABSTRACT

Background: indigenous chickens could serve as precious genetic resources that should be considered in conservation and breeding programs. The Major Histocompatibility Complex [MHC] has a strong association to disease resistance/susceptibility, production and reproduction traits in chicken. Therefore, identifying its polymorphism in populations under selective breeding could be used for selection of disease resistant and higher productive breeds. MHC association with quantitative traits could be a result of its linkage with causative genes controlling these traits. Insulin-like growth factor 1 [IGF1] is a candidate marker for phenotypic traits in chicken which are associated with important production and reproduction features