In order to explore the effect of the goat SKIP gene on growth and development,and find the molecular markers associated with growth trait in goats,primers were designed according to the homologous sequence of the bovine SKIP gene.A 1 350 bp expressed sequence of the goat SKIP gene was amplified by RT-PCR,including the complete coding sequence,encoding 449 amino acids.Through sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis,it was found that the SKIP sequences between goat and sheep had the highest similarity (99.52%).Physical and chemical characteristics of the SKIP protein were predicted by bioinformatic methods.The predicted SKIP protein has a calculated molecular weight of 52.0 ku and a pI of 5.18,and contains a typical phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate phosphatase (COG5411) domain which is conserved among species.Most of the SKIP protein was located in the cytoplasm (60.9%) and nucleus (26.1%),which was verified by indirect immunofluorescence assay.However,there was a dynamic transfer of SKIP from the nucleus to cytoplasm during myoblast differentiation.A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) G/A was detected in the second intron of the SKIP in the Boer and Macheng Black goat breeds.PCR-RFLP was used to genotype this SNP in 318 F2 hybrids of Boer ?? Macheng Black goats.The SNP was significantly associated with four traits including birth weight,chest circumference,cannon circumference and body height.Allele G seemed to be associated with fast-growth trait.