Abstract：The final and critical step in the synthesis of triglycerides is catalyzed by diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) and DGAT2 enzymes. DGAT2 gene plays an important role in fat metabolism, lipid deposition in the organization and growing development. In order to invest the association of polymorphism of DGAT2 with production performance in chicken (Gallus gallus), the genetic polymorphism of DGAT2 gene was investigated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RELP), and the association of polymorphisms with production performance, which included the growth traits, meat quality traits, carcass traits, blood biochemical indices and muscle fiber traits, was analyzed. The results indicated that one synonymous mutation site (C→T) was detected in exon 7 of DGAT2 gene. Three genotypes (CC, CT and TT) were found at g.13955C＞T mutation locus by digesting the PCR product with TaqⅠ, and the frequency of CC, CT and TT genotypes was 0.49, 0.48 and 0.03, respectively. The results showed that the polymorphisms of the g.13955C＞T site of DGAT2 gene had significant association (P＜0.05) with birth weight, 2 and 4 week body weight, 4 and 8 week index of body measurements and intramuscular fat in different genotype, and most CC genotype character value significantly greater than those of TT genotype, while had no significant association with other traits (P＞0.05). The result demonstrated that g.13955C＞T site of chicken DGAT2 gene related to the growth and development, and C allele was dominant genes, it can be candidate molecular markers for the poultry breeding.
