Interpretive Summary: Identify known and novel candidate genes associated with backfat thickness in Duroc pigs by large-scale genome-wide association analysis

By: Rongrong Ding, Zhanwei Zhuang, Yibin Qiu, Donglin Ruan, Jie Wu, Jian Ye, Lu Cao, Shenping Zhou, Enqin Zheng, Wen Huang, Zhenfang Wu, Jie Yang

Backfat thickness (BFT) is a complex and economically important trait in the pig industry because it reflects fat deposition and can be used to measure the carcass lean meat percentage in pigs. In this study, two Duroc populations were genotyped using SNP chips, and genome-wide association analysis was used to identify SNPs and candidate genes related to BFT. A number of genetic markers and candidate genes including MC4R, RYR1, HMGA1, NUDT3, SIRT2, NKAIN2, AMH, SORCS1, and SORCS3 were identified to be significantly related to BFT. Our data suggest that many of the candidate genes can be directly used for genetic improvement through molecular markers.

Read the full article on the Journal of Animal Science.