Molecular Determination of the Associations between Myostatin Gene and Some Growth Traits of Rabbits

This study investigates the myostatin (MSTN) gene polymorphisms and their associations with some growth traits in New Zealand white rabbits. A substitution from cytosine (C) to thymine (T) was observed at base position 847 in the second intron region of the gene, and the genotypes TT and CT were attained only. Genotype frequencies were calculated as 47% for TT and 53% for CT, while allele frequencies were determined as 74% for T and 26% for C. The genotype was found to be not in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (χ²=7.27, P