Association with TGF‐β1 Gene Polymorphisms and Reproductive Performance of Large White Pig

Abstract

As a multifunctional cytokine, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) was detected in the utero-placental interface during early pregnancy in the pig and believed to enhance trophoblast attachment to the endometrium. In this experiment, we selected TGF-β1 as the candidate gene affecting litter size in pigs. Four polymorphic loci of TGF-β1 gene were found by PCR-SSCP (single-strand conformation polymorphism) in Large white sows (n = 567): C→T mutation at 33nt in the intron 4; G→A mutation at 179nt in the intron 6; C→T mutation at 1043nt in the intron 6; GG→AA linkage mutations at 2490nt and 2494nt respectively. We haplotyped these SNPs as: CGCAA (denote as P) and TATGG (denote as K). The effects of three haplotypic combinations (HCs) of PP, PK and KK on litter sizes were investigated by a linear model. It was found that for the first parity litters, the least squares mean for total number born (TNB) of KK was 1.02 piglets/litter, higher than that of PK (p < 0.05), 0.49 piglets/litter higher than that of PP (p > 0.1). There were no significant differences between HCs on the second parity. The result indicated that KK HCs was significantly associated with pig litter size.

Transcriptomic Data Analyses Reveal That Sow Fertility-Related lincRNA NORFA Is Essential for the Normal States and Functions of Granulosa Cells

“…Previous studies about screening of candidate genes for sow reproductive traits mainly focused on coding genes, while research on the candidate lncRNA selection for sow reproductive performance has just started and NORFA is the first identified candidate lincRNA affecting the high prolificacy of Erhualian pigs. In the current study, several candidate genes for sow reproductive traits are also differentially expressed in NORFA-reduced porcine GCs, such as NCOA1 (Korwin-Kossakowska et al, 2002), TGFβ-1 (Wu et al, 2010), INHBA, and TGFBR2 (Li et al, 2020). Their expression patterns were also determined by qRT-PCR (Supplementary Figure 3), and results indicate that NORFA may form a regulatory network with these candidate genes and influence sow reproductive traits and fertility.…”

Investigation of Eph‐ephrin A1 in the regulation of embryo implantation in sows

“…Embryo implantation, also known as embryo attachment, is critical for successful pregnancies in pigs. Approximately 20%–30% of embryonic/foetal death occurred during this period (Su et al, ; Wang, Fu, & Wang, ; Wu, Wang, Li, Fu, & Zhao, ), which is the main cause of piglet loss in the pig industry (Fu et al, ; Geisert & Schmitt, ; Lin et al, ). Reducing piglet losses and increasing litter sizes are major concerns of swine producers, while the embryo implantation is an important factor affecting the litter size and the litter weight of pigs (Fu, Li, Li, Fang, & Ren, ).…”

Differential gene expression of Eph‐ephrin A1 and LEPR‐LEP with high or low number of embryos in pigs during implantation

“…Litter size results from a sequence of events starting with ovulation rate, fertilization rate, embryo survival and uterine capacity (Lin et al., ). Significant limits to litter size have occurred as a result of embryo losses before and during embryo implantation (Fu et al., ; Geisert & Schmitt, ; Lin et al., ; Wu, Wang, Li, Fu, & Zhao, ). Understanding the factors associated with embryo losses during implantation will be required to make advancements in litter size and would be aided with additional information on the genes and proteins involved in regulating embryo attachment and survival (Fu, Fu, & Wang, ; Ren, Guan, Fu, & Wang, ).…”