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Ten generations of divergent selection for intramuscular fat (IMF) content was performed in rabbits. Through the generations, the IMF content has improved. Different Bayesian animal models were used to assess the importance of maternal genetic effects on the genetic control of IMF and fatty acid composition of the two rabbit lines divergently selected for IMF content. Additionally, maternal genome-wide association studies were carried out in these lines to identify genomic regions affecting the IMF and intramuscular fatty acid composition of the offspring. The maternal genetic variance explained an important part of the phenotypic variance of the IMF and intramuscular fatty acid composition. Potential candidate genes were identified on the associated genomic regions related to the traits under study.

Maternal genetic effects (MGE) could affect meat quality traits such as intramuscular fat (IMF) and its fatty acid composition. However, it has been scarcely studied, especially in rabbits. The objectives of the present study were, first, to assess the importance of MGE on intramuscular fat and fatty acid composition by applying a Bayesian maternal animal model in two rabbit lines divergently selected for IMF. The second objective was to identify genomic regions and candidate genes of MGE that are associated with the traits of these offspring, using Bayesian methods in a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS). Quantitative analyses were performed using data from 1982 rabbits, and 349 animals from the 9th generation and 76 dams of the 8th generation with 88,512 SNPs were used for the …