Interpretive Summary: Identification of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in the porcine SLC6A4 gene associated with aggressive behavior in weaned pigs after mixing

 BY: Yanli Guo, Jing Zhao, Qinglei Xu, Siyuan Gao, Mingzheng Liu, Chunlei Zhang, Allan P. Schinckel, and Bo Zhou

The current study identified the functional single nucleotide polymorphisms for the porcine SLC6A4 (serotonin transporter) gene associated with aggressive behavior of pigs after mixing. We investigated the underlying molecular regulation mechanism of those functional variations. SNP rs345058216 (c.-1694C > G) affects binding of the transcription factor MAZ (MYC associated zinc finger protein) to the core promoter region of the SLC6A4 gene, whereas SNP rs332335871 (c.*1586G > A) affects the binding of miR-671-5p to the 3ʹ-UTR of SLC6A4 gene. These results suggest that rs345058216 and rs332335871 could be used as candidate molecular markers for aggressive behavior of pigs after mixing.

Read the full article on the Journal of Animal Science.