Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (&lt;i&gt;LIF&lt;/i&gt;) Gene Polymorphism and its Impact on Reproductive Traits of Pigs

M A Leonova,L V Getmantseva,Bakoev S Yu,V N Vasilenko,Kolosov A Yu,A I Klimenko,A V Usatov,N V Shirockova

doi:10.3844/ajavsp.2015.212.216

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) gene (ID: 399503) in Landrace, Large White and Duroc pigs in Russia and to evaluate the impact on productive traits of pigs. Polymorphism was genotyped using PCR-RFLP method. In the course of studies we observed a different distribution of allele and genotype frequencies of different breeds. In all breeds under study all three genotypes AA, AB, BB were determined. The results of this study suggest that the LIF gene promotes the reproductive traits of pigs. The AA genotype sows compared to BB genotype analogues have better Total Number of Born (TNB) and Number Born Alive (NBA) by 1.4 and 1.3 (p<0.01) in Landrace sows, 1.3 and 0.9 (p<0.05) in Large White and 2.0 and 3.3 (p<0.001) in Duroc, respectively. The AB genotype sows exhibit intermediate values, which testifies the concentration of a favorable A allele in the pig genotype of animals contributing to the fertility. Our research revealed a positive effect of A allele and AA genotype that indicates the possibility to use this polymorphism in improving reproduction traits of sows.

Highlights

IntroductionLeukemia inhibitory factor is a cytokine of pleiotropic action, involved in many physiological processes, including proliferation, differentiation and cell survivability, i.e., it exerts its impact on fecundity (Drogemüller et al, 2001; Rodriguez-Zas et al, 2006; White et al, 2007; Mihailov et al, 2014)
The results of this study suggest that the Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) gene promotes the reproductive traits of pigs
Our research revealed a positive effect of A allele and AA genotype that indicates the possibility to use this polymorphism in improving reproduction traits of sows

Summary

Introduction

Leukemia inhibitory factor is a cytokine of pleiotropic action, involved in many physiological processes, including proliferation, differentiation and cell survivability, i.e., it exerts its impact on fecundity (Drogemüller et al, 2001; Rodriguez-Zas et al, 2006; White et al, 2007; Mihailov et al, 2014). Direct evidence of LIF expression in endometrium, being essential for implantation process, was obtained in experiments on mice using genetic engineering. Stewart et al (1992) proved that in female mice with an inactivated LIF-gene the process of ovum fertilization was not disrupted, but those were not able to embryo implantation. The artificial introduction of recombinant LIF to mice with LIF gene deficit regenerated the implantation process (Mikołajczyk and Metkalf, 1991). Recent studies of Polish scientists have proved the relations between mutations in the LIF gene and women infertility (Králíčková et al, 2006). LIF gene is seen as a fertility candidate gene for many mammalian species, including pigs (Spötter et al, 2001; Lopez et al, 2006; Fan et al, 2009; Ropka-Molik et al, 2012)

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