Genome-wide association analysis reveals genetic loci and candidate genes associated with intramuscular fat in Duroc pigs

Abstract

Intramuscular fat (IMF) is a major meat-quality trait in pigs. The content of IMF is directly associated with the taste and flavor of pork. As a complex trait, there could be multiple genes affecting IMF content in pork. Genomewide association study is a powerful tool to detect genomic regions associated with phenotypic variations. The objectives of the present study were to identify or refine the positions of genomic regions affecting IMF, and to characterize candidate genes and pathways that may influence this trait. Of note, we identified a significant region in longissium dorsi muscle in a Duroc pig population for IMF content with PorcineSNP60 v2 BeadChip. This region spans 1.24 Mb on chromosome 8 and had been identified as a quantitative trait locus for IMF in Pietrain, Large White, Landrace, and Leicoma pigs. In this region, eight SNPs were significantly associated with IMF content. Three genes proximal to these significant SNPs were considered candidate genes, including ZDHHC16, LOC102162218 and PCDH7. Our results confirm several previous findings and highlight several genes that may contribute to IMF variation in Duroc pigs.