Polymorphisms of Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Receptor-1 Gene and Their Genetic Effects on Broodiness in Chickens

ABSTRACT Broodiness is a polygenic trait controlled by a small number of autosomal genes. Vasoactive intesti-nal peptide receptor-1 (VIPR-1) gene could be a candidate of chicken broodiness, and its genomic variations and genetic effects on chicken broodiness traits were analyzed in this study. The partial cloning and sequencing of the VIPR-1 gene showed that the average nucleotide diversity was 0.00669 ± 0.00093 in Red Jungle Fowls (RJF), and 0.00582 ± 0.00026 in domestic chickens. One hundred twenty-eight variation sites were identified in the 11,136-bp region of the chicken VIPR-1 gene. Twenty variation sites were genotyped using PCR-RFLP or PCR method to analyze average diversity, linkage-disequilibrium pat-tern, and haplotype structure in RJF, Xinghua chickens