Detection of differentially expressed genes in the longissimus dorsi of Northeastern Indigenous and Large White pigs

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Recent attention in pig breeding programs has focused on the improvement of pork quality in response to increasing consumer demands. Compared to the fatty-type Northeastern Indigenous (Chinese) breed of pigs, the lean-type Large White has lower intramuscular fat and inferior eating quality from the perspective of the Chinese consumer. In order to investigate the molecular basis of differences in pork quality in Chinese indigenous and Western breeds, longissimus dorsi samples were collected from three adult Northeastern Indigenous and three adult Large White pigs. The RNAs were extracted and hybridized to the porcine Affymetrix GeneChip. Microarray analysis demonstrated differential expression of 1134 genes of which 401 have a known function. One hundred and thirty-six genes were up-regulated and 998 down-regulated in Northeastern Indigenous breed compared to Large White pigs. We screened 10 genes as candidate genes associated with pork quality. We investigated a single nucleotide polymorphism in the 5' regulatory region of the gene FABP4 in 65 Songliao black swine, using PCR-single-strand conformational polymorphism. We found this polymorphism to be highly significantly associated with marbling and intra-muscular fat content (P ≤ 0.01). Genotype BB had higher marbling than AB and AA, but there was no significant difference between AB and AA. Genotype BB and AB had higher intra-muscular fat content than AA, but there was no significant difference between BB and AB. These results help to elucidate the genetic mechanisms behind differences in pork quality and provide a theoretical basis for selection and genetic improvement of meat quality traits in pigs.

The effect of breed and feeding level on carcass composition, fatty acid profile and expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in fat metabolism in two muscles of pigs fed a diet enriched in n-3 fatty acids. A preliminary study

“…Our results are in agreement with those of Yu et al (2013) who found that the greater SCD gene expression in the LD muscle of Lantang than in Landrace pigs was accompanied by higher IMF, MUFA and PUFA contents in this muscle. Opposite results were obtained by Gao et al (2011), who reported lower SCD expression in Northeastern Indigenous pigs having a higher IMF content, but the animals were slaughtered on day 150 regardless of their final BW. The results reported by Wu et al (2013) seem to indicate that SCD expression may be affected by the age of animals.…”

“…Therefore, stearoylCoA desaturase (SCD), fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP-4), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) genes expression was determined. To date, most studies (Gao et al, 2011;Yu et al, 2013) have estimated transcript levels in the LD muscle, whereas there is no data concerning the BF muscle, probably because of problems with sample collection in commercial slaughter houses and the generally greater emphasis placed on the polymorphism of the selected genes. Our planned analysis of both LD and BF muscles should contribute new information on this issue.…”

miRNA Expression Profile Analysis in Kidney of Different Porcine Breeds

“…Different consuming necessities in pig industry have expanded the large phenotypic variability due to different selected traits. Genetic diversity between pig breeds has been further studied [42]–[44] showing variability in gene expression and elucidating the artificial selection performed by porcine industry during pig domestication [45]. However, the genetic variability held at miRNA sequences, which could imply changes at post-transcriptional level, has not yet been explored although it may lead to great phenotypic differences and/or pathological disorders.…”

MicroRNA in sperm from Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire boars

“…Pig domestication has generated several phenotypically distinct breeds, with large differences among breeds for some traits, including reproduction and meat production567. Although selection for various environments has resulted in a wide variety of domestic pig breeds with apparently divergent phenotypes8, genetic variability of miRNA expression, which could be linked to post-transcriptional modifications, has not yet been well characterized.…”