TIAM2 and ADCY7 polymorphisms and their association with feed efficiency in Huaibei partridge chickens

Feed accounts for about 70% of poultry production costs, highlighting the importance of improving feed efficiency. TIAM2 and ADCY7 are potential regulators of feed efficiency and energy metabolism, but their associations with feed efficiency traits in poultry remain unclear. Huaibei partridge chicken, a slow-growing indigenous Chinese breed with notable meat quality and superior disease resistance, has received limited attention in feed efficiency research. This study aimed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TIAM2 and ADCY7 and investigate their associations with feed efficiency traits in Huaibei partridge chickens. Using mixed-pool sequencing and restriction enzyme digestion, we identified the single-nucleotide polymorphisms in TIAM2 (A105910C and T166125C) and ADCY7 (A1391G and T32560C). The AC genotype of TIAM2 A105910C exhibited a significantly higher residual feed intake (RFI), an indicator of feed efficiency independent of body weight and growth rate, than the CC genotype (P < 0.05), and the T166125C TT genotype showed a higher RFI than the CC genotype (P < 0.05). In ADCY7, both GG and AG genotypes at A1391G had a higher RFI than AA genotypes (P < 0.05), whereas the T32560C TT genotype showed a significantly higher RFI than CC (P < 0.01). Combined genotype analysis revealed that the AC-TT-GG-TC combination led to a significantly higher RFI than the CC-TC-TC-GG-TC combination (P < 0.05), indicating that CC-TC-GG-TC is the predominant genotype for high feed efficiency. These findings demonstrate that TIAM2 and ADCY7 are involved in the feed efficiency. The identified SNPs and combined genotypes might serve as molecular markers for marker-assisted selection to enhance feed efficiency in the poultry industry.