Regulation of Swine Growth by Backfat Tissue during Growing and Finishing Stages

Abstract

Recently, interest in the function of pig backfat (BF) has increased in the field of livestock animals, and many transcriptome-based studies using commercial pig breeds have been conducted. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies regarding the biological mechanisms of Korean native pigs (KNPs) and Yorkshire pig crossbreeds. In this study, therefore, BF samples of F1 crossbreeds of KNPs and Yorkshire pigs were investigated to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and their related terms using RNA-sequencing analysis. DEG analysis identified 611 DEGs, of which 182 were up-regulated and 429 were down-regulated. Lipid metabolism was identified in the up-regulated genes, whereas growth and maturation-related terminologies were identified in the down-regulated genes. LEP and ACTC1 were identified as highly connected core genes during functional gene network analysis. Fat tissue was observed to affect lipid metabolism and organ development due to hormonal changes driven by transcriptional alteration. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of BF contribution to crossbreeds of KNPs and Yorkshire pigs during growth periods.

Expression and Genetic Effects of GLI Pathogenesis-Related 1 Gene on Backfat Thickness in Pigs

“…Backfat thickness (BFT) is an important carcass composition trait and influences growth, which is why it is regarded as a breeding focus [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Due to the importance of BFT, it has been extensively studied, and some important regulatory genes have been found [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. GLI pathogenesis-related 1 ( GLIPR1 ) was identified as a candidate gene by transcriptome analysis of pig BFT in our previous study [ 7 ].…”