Barkova OYu, Azovtseva AI.

Animal Husbandry and Fodder Production. 2026. Vol. 109. No. 2. Р. 133-144.

doi: 10.33284/2658-3135-109-2-133

Original article

Association of the single-nucleotide substitution rs73924131 of the INTS6 gene with meat

productivity in chickens of Tsarskosel’skaya breed

Olga Yu Barkova1, Anastasia I Azovtseva2

1,2 Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding – Branch of the LK Ernst Federal Science Center for Animal Husbandry, Pushkin, Russia   

1barkoffws@list.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0963-905X

2ase4ica15@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2963-378X

Abstract. Modern industrial poultry farming has achieved high productivity due to intensive genetic selection of meat chicken breeds and the use of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which enable the identification of genetic regions (QTLs) associated with growth and carcass weight. These studies revealed that the INTS6 gene has a significant impact on chicken weight. However, the association of allelic variants with body weight remains unexplored. The aim of this study is to analyze the association of the single nucleotide substitution rs73924131 of the INTS6 gene with body weight in chickens of Tsarskosel’skaya breed and to analyze the relationship between the transcriptional activity of this gene in muscle tissue and the genotype, body weight, and age of the birds. The study revealed a significant association between rs73924131 (A/G) of the INTS6 gene and the bird weight trait in the Tsarskosel’skaya breed, as well as a significant substitution effect for the AA-GG and AG-GG alleles. The highest body weight indicators were observed in chickens with the AA genotype for mononucleotide substitutions of rs73924131 (A/G) of the INTS6 gene. A significant correlation was established between the INTS6 gene expression level in the pectoral muscle and such traits as live weight, marketable carcass weight, drumstick weight, femur length, chest girth, and chest depth using Spearman's correlation analysis.

Keywords: farm poultry, Gallus gallus domesticus, relative expression level, INTS6, body weight, Spearman’s correlation analysis

Acknowledgments: the work was supported in accordance to the plan of research works for 2024-2026 RRIFAGB (No. 124020200114).

For citation: Barkova OYu, Azovtseva AI. Association of the single-nucleotide substitution rs73924131 of the INTS6 gene with meat productivity in chickens of Tsarskosel’skaya breed. Animal Husbandry and Forage Production. 2026;109(2):133-144. (In Russ.)]. https://doi.org/10.33284/2658-3135-109-2-133

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Information about the authors:

Olga Yu Barkova, Cand. Sci. (Biology), Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding — Branch of the L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, St. Petersburg, Pushkin, Moskovskoe shosse, 55a, 196601, tel.: 89646116482.

Anastasia I Azovtseva, postgraduate student, Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding — Branch of the L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, St. Petersburg, Pushkin, Moskovskoe shosse, 55a, 196601, tel.: 89817288692.

The article was submitted 13.02.2026; approved after reviewing 20.04.2026; accepted for publication 15.06.2026.

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