Abstract
Simple SummaryInterferon-alpha-16 (IFNA16) and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 19 (TNFRSF19) are cytokines that may play a role in adipogenesis, lipid accumulation and fatty acid metabolism in the muscle tissue of mammals. However, no association study of the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 genes with the fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat has been reported in pigs. Therefore, the current study was performed to verify single nucleotide polymorphisms of the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 genes and to analyze how they affect intramuscular fat content and fatty acid composition in commercial crossbred pigs. The porcine IFNA16 c.413G > A polymorphism was associated with stearic acid, total saturated fatty acids and the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids. Moreover, the TNFRSF19 c.860G > C polymorphism was associated with intramuscular fat content and arachidic acid levels. The results revealed that the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 polymorphisms are related to lipid deposition and/or fatty acid composition in the muscle tissue of pigs. These findings suggest that the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 gene variants may contribute to lipid accumulation and fatty acid deposition in the muscle tissue of pigs.Interferon-alpha-16 (IFNA16) and tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 19 (TNFRSF19) are cytokines that may play a role in adipogenesis and fatness. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 genes were verified and their association with intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acid (FA) composition were evaluated in commercial crossbred pigs. Two non-synonymous SNPs of the porcine IFNA16 c.413G > A and TNFRSF19 c.860G > C loci were detected in commercial crossbred pigs. The porcine IFNA16 c.413G >A polymorphism was significantly associated with stearic acid, total saturated FAs (SFAs), and the ratio of monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) to SFAs (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the porcine TNFRSF19 c.860G > C polymorphism was found to be significantly associated with IMF content and arachidic acid levels (p < 0.05). The results revealed that porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 polymorphisms are related to IMF content and/or FA composition and affirmed the importance of these cytokine genes as potential candidate genes for lipid deposition and FA composition in the muscle tissue of pigs.
Highlights
Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is an important trait for the enhancement of meat quality in pigs [1,2]
The function of the porcine IFNA16 G138D gene variant has not been characterized yet, our results indicate a significant association of this IFNA16 variant with stearic acid and saturated fatty acids (FAs) (SFAs) levels in Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle tissue samples collected from the commercial pig population
The results of this study indicate that the porcine IFNA16 and TNFRSF19 genes could be expected to be involved in intramuscular fat (IMF) content and FA composition
Summary
Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is an important trait for the enhancement of meat quality in pigs [1,2]. High levels of FAs, especially oleic acid, palmitoleic acid, and total monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) are known to be positively correlated with the flavor of pork and could be beneficial to human health [5]. A high dietary intake of saturated FAs (SFAs) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and lipid disorders in humans [5,6]. Reducing the content of SFAs while simultaneously enhancing the content of MUFAs in pork would be a fundamental achievement in the improvement of the genetic composition of intramuscular FAs [5]. It is known that IMF content and FA composition traits are genetically regulated with moderate heritability [7], the underlying physio-genetic complex mechanisms of these traits have not yet been clarified [8].
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