Cloning, expression, and polymorphism of the ECI1 gene in various pig breeds

Abstract

The enzyme Δ 3 ,Δ 2 -dienoyl-CoA isomerase (ECI1) plays a crucial role in the mitochondrial β-oxidation of fatty acids with a double-bond in odd and even positions. The ECI1 gene might be a qualified candidate for studies pertaining to lipid deposition and meat quality in swine. In the present study, ECI1 cDNA of the Tibetan pig was obtained by in silico cloning and verified by PCR analysis. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ECI1 were screened by PCR-sequencing and genotypes of those SNPs were tested by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in Diannan small-ear pigs (DSP, n=40), Tibetan pigs (TP, n=60) and Yorkshire pigs (YP, n=30). The expression levels of ECI1 were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting in tissues of the liver, backfat, and longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of DSP (n=8), TP (n=8) and YP (n=8). Single factor linear correlation analysis was applied separately for each breed to evaluate correlations between ECI1 gene expression in the LD muscle and intramuscular fat (IMF) content. We obtained an ECI1 gene length of 1 401 bp from the cDNA that contained a full coding region of 909 bp. Three novel SNPs (g.42425337G>A; g.42424666A>G; and g.42422755A>G) were detected, and only g.42424666A>G exhibited three genotypes among the three breeds. The ECI1 expression levels in the LD muscle of DSP and TP were significantly higher than that of YP (P<0.05). Moreover, TP had the highest ECI1 expression in backfat (P<0.01), and a positive correlation was observed between gene expression and IMF content. The results suggest that differences in ECI1 gene expression might be related to lipid deposition and meat quality in pig.

Transcriptomic profile of longissimus thoracis associated with fatty acid content in Nellore beef cattle

“…The ECI1 gene codes the 3,2‐trans‐enoyl‐CoA isomerase enzyme, which plays a fundamental role in β‐oxidation of unsaturated FA, especially the oleic acid (Houten & Wanders, 2010; Janssen & Stoffel, 2002). The ECI1 gene overexpression was also associated with a higher concentration of IMF in swine as well as related to the oleic acid concentration (Lu et al, 2004). These findings support the relationship of the ECI1 gene better connected with the low oleic group ( K diff = −0.68) and upregulated in the higher PUFA sum group (LFC = +0.33, p ‐adj = 0.099).…”

Genome-Wide Detection of Runs of Homozygosity in Laiwu Pigs Revealed by Sequencing Data

“…Because Laiwu pigs are characterized for high IMF contents, several candidate genes detected in our study were reported to be associated with lipid deposition and meat quality. ECI1 expression was observed to have a positive correlation with IMF content ( Lu et al, 2017 ). LRP12 was reported to have highly significant associations with gluteus medius saturated fatty acid content in Duroc pigs ( Melo et al, 2013 ).…”