Genome Wide Association Study for Sperm Mobility Phrnotype in Broiler Chickens

We are using Genome wide association studies (GWAS) in High and low mobility chicken lines, and crosses between the lines to elucidate the gene regions affecting the sperm mobility trait. Sperm mobility is a significant determinant of male fertility in commercial chickens and has been shown to be a highly heritable trait. GWAS analysis will allow us to identify gene regions and gene networks responsible for variability of the mobility phenotype. We then performed a GWAS on the tails of the mobility distribution within the Low line and on an F2 cross of two lines. The result implicate the Z chromosome as a major determinant of mobility phenotype, consistent with previous work that demonstrated a strong maternal effect. However, the specific regions on chromosome Z do not seem to be shared between the different GWAS experiments suggesting a strong epistatic effect.