Investigation of Egg Weight, Ovarian Follicles Morphology and Growth Differentiation Factor 9 mRNA Expression in Potchefstroom Koekoek Chicken Breed

The growth differentiation factor 9 ( GDF9 ) gene plays a vital role in the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles in laying hens. However, its messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression levels in preovulatory ovarian follicles of indigenous chickens remain poorly understood. The study aimed to identify the association between egg weight and egg quality traits, ovarian follicles morphology, and mRNA expression levels of the GDF9 gene in pre-ovulatory ovarian follicles of the South African Potchefstroom Koekoek chicken breed. The correlation results showed that egg weight (EW) had a positively high significant correlation ( p< 0.01) with egg width (EWD), yolk weight (YW), shell surface area (SSA), albumen weight (AW), albumen ratio (AR) and egg volume (EV), and a positive significant correlation ( p< 0.05) with egg length (EL). The Student’s T-test results revealed that the numbers of large yellow follicles were significantly lower ( p< 0.05) than those of small yellow follicles. ANOVA findings showed that there was a significant difference ( p< 0.05) in the average weight of the large yellow follicles. The quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) findings indicated that there were significant differences ( p< 0.05) in the mRNA expression levels of the GDF9 gene in preovulatory ovarian follicles of the Potchefstroom Koekoek chicken breed. The mRNA expression was more abundant in F1 and F4 than in other ovarian follicles.