A novel 22-bp InDel within <italic>FGF7</italic> gene is significantly associated with growth traits in goat.

Abstract Fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7) is involved in lipid metabolism, which is considered as a candidate gene with close relation with muscle development by eGWAs and RNA-Seq analyses. To date, limited research has been conducted on the relationship between <italic>FGF7</italic> gene and growth traits. The main objective of this work was to further investigate the association between novel InDel within <italic>FGF7</italic> gene and growth traits in goat. Herein, <italic>FGF7</italic> mRNA expression levels were investigated in various Fuqing goat tissues. We found that <italic>FGF7</italic> gene was expressed in six adult goat tissues with the highest mRNA levels in adipose tissue. This result suggested that <italic>FGF7</italic> gene might play a critical role in fat deposition. We also detected potential polymorphisms in Fuqing, Nubian and Jianyang Daer breeds. A 22-bp InDel polymorphism in <italic>FGF7</italic> gene was detected in 396 goats and the three genotypes were designated as II, ID, and DD. Correlation analysis revealed that InDel polymorphism was significantly associated with growth traits (<italic>P</italic> < 0.05). Goats with genotypes ID and/or II had superior growth traits compared to those with genotype DD. In summary, our findings suggested that the 22-bp InDel within <italic>FGF7</italic> gene could act as a molecular marker to improve the growth traits of goats in breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]