Molecular Characterization, Expression Profile, and A 21-bp Indel within the ASB9 Gene and Its Associations with Chicken Production Traits

A growing number of studies have shown that members of the ankyrin repeat and suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) box-containing protein (ASB) family are extensively involved in biological processes such as cell growth, tissue development, insulin signaling, ubiquitination, protein degradation, and skeletal muscle membrane protein formation, while the specific biological role of ankyrin-repeat and SOCS box protein 9 (ASB9) remains unclear. In this study, a 21 bp indel in the intron of ASB9 was identified for the first time in 2641 individuals from 11 different breeds and an F(2) resource population, and differences were observed among individuals with different genotypes (II, ID, and DD). An association study of a cross-designed F(2) resource population revealed that the 21-bp indel was significantly related to growth and carcass traits. The significantly associated growth traits were body weight (BW) at 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks of age; sternal length (SL) at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of age; body slope length (BSL) at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of age; shank girth (SG) at 4 and 12 weeks of age; tibia length (TL) at 12 weeks of age; and pelvic width (PW) at 4 weeks of age (p < 0.05). This indel was also significantly correlated with carcass traits including semievisceration weight (SEW), evisceration weight (EW), claw weight (CLW), breast muscle weight (BMW), leg weight (LeW), leg muscle weight (LMW), claw rate (CLR), and shedding weight (ShW) (p < 0.05). In commercial broilers, the II genotype was the dominant genotype and underwent extensive selection. Interestingly, the ASB9 gene was expressed at significantly higher levels in the leg muscles of Arbor Acres broilers than those of Lushi chickens, while the opposite was true for the breast muscles. In summary, the 21-bp indel in the ASB9 gene significantly influenced the expression of the ASB9 gene in muscle tissue and was associated with multiple growth and carcass traits in the F(2) resource population. These findings suggested that the 21-bp indel within the ASB9 gene could be used in marker-assisted selection breeding for traits related to chicken growth.