Abstract

Distribution of H-FABP and ACSL4 gene polymorphisms and their associations with intramuscular fat content and backfat thickness in different pig populations

Author(s): J.N. Chen, Y.Z. Jiang, W.M. Cen, S.H. Xing, L. Zhu, G.Q. Tang, M.Z. Li, A.A. Jiang, P.E. Lou, A.X. Wen, Q. Wang, T. He, G.X. Zhu, M. Xie and X.W. Li

Here, we analyzed the distribution of H-FABP/(HinfI, MspI, and HaeIII) and ACSL4/RsaI polymorphisms, and the associations of these 4 polymorphic loci with intramuscular fat (IMF) content and backfat thickness (BFT) in Yanan, Jinhua, Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) (DLY) pigs. H-FABP/HinfI polymorphisms were present in all the 6 populations. At the ACSL4/RsaI locus, sows had 3 genotypes, whereas boars only had haplotype A or G, in Duroc, Landrace, Yorkshire, and DLY pigs. H-FABP/(MspI and HaeIII) and ACSL4/RsaI polymorphisms were absent in Yanan and Jinhua pigs. Linkage disequilibrium analysis indicated that the 3 loci (HinfI, MspI, and HaeIII) were separated. Association analysis showed that the H-FABP/HinfI locus significantly affected IMF content in DLY (P H-FABP polymorphic loci (2.59%, P ACSL4/RsaI locus, higher IMF content was recorded for sows with a GG genotype or boars with a G haplotype compared to those with an AA genotype (2.53 vs 2.10%, P vs 1.73%, P 0.05). The results indicate that H-FABP and ACSL4 genes might serve as markers to improve IMF content (but not BFT) in the pig breeding system.

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