mRNA and protein expression levels of four candidate genes for ear size in Erhualian and Large White pigs

Abstract

Porcine ear size is an important characteristic for distinguishing among pig breeds. In a previous genome-wide association study of porcine ear size, LEM domain-containing 3 (LEMD3), methionine sulfoxide reductase B3 (MSRB3), high mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2), and Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1) were implicated as important candidate genes for ear size. This study investigated the expression levels of four candidate genes for ear size in Erhualian and Large White pigs. Ten Erhualian pigs with large ears and eight Large White pigs with small ears at 60 days of age were examined. The mRNA expression levels of the four candidate genes were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. WIF1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in Large White than in Erhualian pigs (P < 0.05), whereas the expression levels of the other three genes were not significantly different between the two breeds. The protein expression levels of the four genes were analyzed using western blot. WIF1 protein expression was significantly higher in Large White than in Erhualian pigs (P < 0.01), whereas MSRB3 protein expression was significantly higher in Erhualian than in Large White pigs (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two breeds in residual protein expression. These results suggest that WIF1 is the main causal gene for ear size in pigs.

High mobility group A2 (HMGA2) deficiency in pigs leads to dwarfism, abnormal fetal resource allocation, and cryptorchidism

“…In contrast, overexpression of a truncated form of HMGA2 resulted in gigantism and lipomatosis in mice ( 15 ). Despite the documented role in regulation of body size in mice, the definitive function of HMGA2 in pigs remains elusive; HMGA2 has been associated with ear size in pigs ( 16 , 17 ) and higher expression in fetal skeletal muscle of breeds with higher muscularity ( 18 ). Previously it has been shown that inactivation of the growth hormone receptor ( GHR ) in pigs results in reduced adult weight and size and increase in obesity.…”

Long divergent haplotypes introgressed from wild sheep are associated with distinct morphological and adaptive characteristics in domestic sheep

“…RXFP2 was strongly associated with sheep horn morphology (Johnston, et al 2011; Kijas, et al 2012), and SUPT3H was reported to be associated with nose bridge breadth(Adhikari, et al 2015), nose morphology(Claes, et al 2018), chin dimples(Pickrell, et al 2016) and forehead protrusion (Bonfante, et al 2021). MSRB3 had been identified as a candidate gene for external ear morphology in pig, dog, goat and sheep (Boyko, et al 2010; Webster, et al 2015; Wei, et al 2015; Zhang, et al 2016; Zhang, et al 2017; Chen, et al 2018a; Kumar, et al 2018; Paris, et al 2020). Furthermore, several other genes (e.g., STXBP5L, DENND1A, VPS13B ) were identified in GWAS studies of human facial shape analyses (Claes, et al 2018; Bonfante, et al 2021; White, et al 2021).…”

Identification of Genomic Regions and Candidate Genes Associated with Body Weight and Body Conformation Traits in Karachai Goats

“…The MSRB3 gene is one of the most important members of the MSRB gene family; it can reduce the catalytic effect of methionine-R-sulfoxide to methionine, particularly as an oxidoreductase [ 54 ]. Many previous studies have shown that the MSRB3 gene can influence the shape and size of ears in pigs and sheep [ 55 , 56 ]. Based on genome-wide association analysis, gene silencing and protein precipitation, the MSRB3 gene was considered as a candidate gene affecting the growth performance of cattle [ 57 ].…”