Abstract
Fatty acid composition is an important phenotypic trait in pigs as it affects nutritional, technical and sensory quality of pork. Here, we reported a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for fatty acid composition in the longissimus muscle and abdominal fat tissues of 591 White Duroc×Erhualian F2 animals and in muscle samples of 282 Chinese Sutai pigs. A total of 46 loci surpassing the suggestive significance level were identified on 15 pig chromosomes (SSC) for 12 fatty acids, revealing the complex genetic architecture of fatty acid composition in pigs. Of the 46 loci, 15 on SSC5, 7, 14 and 16 reached the genome-wide significance level. The two most significant SNPs were ss131535508 (P = 2.48×10−25) at 41.39 Mb on SSC16 for C20∶0 in abdominal fat and ss478935891 (P = 3.29×10−13) at 121.31 Mb on SSC14 for muscle C18∶0. A meta-analysis of GWAS identified 4 novel loci and enhanced the association strength at 6 loci compared to those evidenced in a single population, suggesting the presence of common underlying variants. The longissimus muscle and abdominal fat showed consistent association profiles at most of the identified loci and distinct association signals at several loci. All loci have specific effects on fatty acid composition, except for two loci on SSC4 and SSC7 affecting multiple fatness traits. Several promising candidate genes were found in the neighboring regions of the lead SNPs at the genome-wide significant loci, such as SCD for C18∶0 and C16∶1 on SSC14 and ELOVL7 for C20∶0 on SSC16. The findings provide insights into the molecular basis of fatty acid composition in pigs, and would benefit the final identification of the underlying mutations.
Highlights
The pig is an important domesticated animal that produce approximate 40% of red meat worldwide [1]
Excessive synthesis of fatty acids is a characteristic of many human cancers [5]; reduced polyunsaturated fatty acid composition in skeletal muscle phospholipids is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity [6]
The fatty acid composition in the White Duroc6Erhualian F2 population has been reported in our previous publications [8,16,17], while the fatty acid composition in the longissimus dorsi muscle samples of Sutai pigs is presented for the first time
Summary
The pig is an important domesticated animal that produce approximate 40% of red meat worldwide [1]. The composition of fatty acids that differ in carbon length and degree of saturation is a crucial factor influencing pork quality and human health. High contents of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially n-3 fatty acids in meat are beneficial to cardiovascular health of humans [4], whereas high amount of saturated fatty acids, especially myristic (C14:0) and palmitic (C16:0) acids, could increase the risk of coronary heart disease [2]. Abnormal metabolism of fatty acids has been linked to many diseases. Elucidating the genetic basis of fatty acid composition in pigs can establish novel tools to optimize fatty acid composition of pork, and gives insights into understand the genomic regulation of fatty acid metabolism in humans
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