SNP screening of the HSD3B1 gene and its association with laying performance in Taihang chickens

The 3 beta-and steroid delta-isomerase 1 (HSD3B1) gene has a great influence on reproductive traits and therefore has been widely studied. However, little is known about the relationships between polymorphisms of the HSD3B1 gene and laying traits in Taihang chickens. Therefore, the HSD3B1 gene was selected for polymorphism detection and analysis of its relationship with laying performance traits. The mRNA expression levels of HSD3B1 in 16 tissues of Taihang chickens were detected, and the HSD3B1 gene was SNP screened and genotyped, and associated with laying traits. The results showed that the HSD3B1 gene was widely expressed. The HSD3B1 expression level was highest in F1 follicles, lowest in small white follicles, and differentially expressed in large follicles with small yellow follicles. The C274T allele was moderately polymorphic in Taihang chickens, and the age of opening day was significantly earlier for the CC genotype than for other genotypes. The present results demonstrate that the homozygous CC genotype can be considered a genotype for molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) to improve the breeding efficiency of Taihang chickens.