A substitution within erythropoietin receptor gene D1 domain associated with litter size in Beijing Black pig, Sus scrofa

Abstract

Studies of uterine capacity and litter size in swine have suggested that erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) plays an important role in fetal survival through maturation of red blood cells. In this study, we screened the porcine EPOR gene for mutations and identified three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): two missense mutations and one synonymous mutation. We then genotyped 272 Beijing Black sows, Sus scrofa, and compared this data with litter sizes from a total of 1523 parities among the sows. The G allele of the nonsynonymous SNP, EPOR c.434A>G, was associated with greater litter size at both first parity (P < 0.05) and at later parities (P < 0.01). This SNP causes His92Arg adjacent to the fourth conserved cysteine residue in the mature protein and is in the D1 domain of the protein. Additionally, we determined the allele frequencies for this SNP among six Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Bamei, Erhualian, Laiwu Black, Mashen, Meishan and Min) and three Western commercial pig breeds (Duroc, Landrace and Large White). The c.434G allele was significantly more common among the more prolific Chinese breeds than the Western breeds, implying that EPOR c.434A>G could be a useful genetic marker to improve litter size in swine.

Association of FTH and EPOR gene polymorphisms with litter size traits in pigs

“…The porcine FTH g.9537834G > A and FTH g.9537855T > C loci were corresponding to 3´-untranslated region (3´-UTR) SNP (MspI-c.677T > C and MspI-c.699T > C) of the porcine FTH gene as ascribed by a previous study (Pripwai and Mekchay, 2012). Moreover, the porcine EPOR g.70066473C > T locus was corresponding to a SNP of intron 4 (g.2373C > T) of the porcine EPOR gene (Vallet et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2011a). These three SNPs were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method.…”

“…Moreover, the porcine FTH g.9537834G > A and FTH g.9537855T > C polymorphisms may be in the close linkage of disequilibrium with the causative SNPs that are known to have a positive effect on litter size traits in pigs. The association of EPOR polymorphism with litter size traits has been identified in pigs (Vallet et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2011a;2011b). The porcine EPOR polymorphism was associated with uterine capacity and litter size in pigs (Vallet et al, 2005).…”

“…Therefore, faster blood cell development could be beneficial to fetal survival and enhance the uterine capacity of pigs. Therefore, the EPOR plays an important role in fetal survival by promoting the maturation of red blood cells in pigs (Zhang et al, 2011a). The transcript of EPOR gene is 1871 bp in length.…”

“…Moreover, highly polymorphic sites of the porcine EPOR gene have been reported in the Ensembl database (https://asia.ensembl.org/index.html, accessed on 2 September 2021). Numerous SNPs of the porcine EPOR gene have been used to test for an association with litter size traits in Western crossbred and Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Vallet et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2011a;2011b).…”

Integrating Genome-Wide Association Study with RNA-Sequencing Reveals HDAC9 as a Candidate Gene Influencing Loin Muscle Area in Beijing Black Pigs

“…Developed in the 1960s from Berkshire, Large White, and Chinese indigenous pig breeds (Dingxian, Shenxian, Zhouxian, respectively) [ 8 ], the Beijing Black pig has become an important pig breed in northern China due to the good flavor of its meat. Although many candidate genes related to loin muscle area have been reported, the molecular markers and candidate genes for LMA in Beijing Black pigs have yet to be identified.…”