Abstract
The heart fatty acid-binding protein (HFABP) gene was sequenced in parental animals of a F2 crossing of boars of the Brazilian native Piau breed with commercial sows (Landrace x Large White Pietrain). Primers used for PCR were designed to amplify four exons of the gene. The PCR products were sequenced and compared with the GenBank sequences. Differences between the generated sequences and the GenBank sequences were observed for both genetic groups. A total of 246 F2 animals were genotyped using the Hinf I restriction enzyme. Two genotypes were identified, 198 being animals HH and 48 Hh. The Hinf I SNP was significantly associated with weights of loin (bone-in) (P<0.05), jowl (P<0.05), sirloin (P<0.10), and kidneys (P<0.01). These results showed the potential of the H-FABP gene in marker-assisted selection programs for carcass traits in pigs.
Highlights
The consumer market of pork demands quality, especially in Europe and North America
Animal breeding programs have focused on the production of animals with lower backfat thickness and higher carcass lean meat content, but undesirable genetic gains have been reached in the meat quality traits, especially for the intramuscular fat content (Merks, 2000)
Molecular genetics is a tool that may improve the efficiency of selection programs since it permits the detection of genes or loci related to Recebido em 15 de janeiro de 2007 Aceito em 29 de janeiro de 2008 Autor para correspondência E-mail: sfacioni@ufv.br
Summary
The consumer market of pork demands quality, especially in Europe and North America. Animal breeding programs have focused on the production of animals with lower backfat thickness and higher carcass lean meat content, but undesirable genetic gains have been reached in the meat quality traits, especially for the intramuscular fat content (Merks, 2000).Molecular genetics is a tool that may improve the efficiency of selection programs since it permits the detection of genes or loci related to Association of the heart fatty...reproduction, performance, carcass, and meat quality traits. The heart fatty acid-binding protein (HFABP) gene has significant effects on economically important traits for the pig industry (Gerbers et al, 1999). Allelic variants of this gene have been associated to different patterns of intramuscular fat deposition (Qian et al, 1999), as well as to other meat quality, carcass cut, carcass yield, and performance traits. The objective of the present study was to identify allelic variants of the HFABP gene and to determine the effect of these variations on carcass and pork traits in F2 animals, aiming their application in pig breeding programs
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