National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Jeju, Korea.
Anim Genet. 2011 Dec;42(6):621-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2011.02204.x. Epub 2011 Apr 29.
Haematological traits play important roles in disease resistance and defence functions. The objective of this study was to locate quantitative trait loci (QTL) and the associated positional candidate genes influencing haematological traits in an F(2) intercross between Landrace and Korean native pigs. Eight blood-related traits (six erythrocyte traits, one leucocyte trait and one platelet trait) were measured in 816 F(2) progeny. All experimental animals were genotyped with 173 informative microsatellite markers located throughout the pig genome. We report that nine chromosomes harboured QTL for the baseline blood parameters: genomic regions on SSC 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 and 17. Eight of twenty identified QTL reached genome-wide significance. In addition, we evaluated the KIT locus, an obvious candidate gene locus affecting variation in blood-related traits. Using dense single nucleotide polymorphism marker data on SSC 8 and the marker-assisted association test, the strong association of the KIT locus with blood phenotypes was confirmed. In conclusion, our study identified both previously reported and novel QTL affecting baseline haematological parameters in pigs. Additionally, the positional candidate genes identified here could play an important role in elucidating the genetic architecture of haematological phenotype variation in swine and in humans.
血液学特征在疾病抗性和防御功能中起着重要作用。本研究的目的是定位影响长白猪和韩国本地猪杂交后代血液学特征的数量性状基因座（QTL）和相关的候选基因。在 816 个 F2 杂交后代中测量了 8 个与血液相关的特征（6 个红细胞特征、1 个白细胞特征和 1 个血小板特征）。所有实验动物均使用分布在整个猪基因组中的 173 个信息丰富的微卫星标记进行基因分型。我们报告称，9 条染色体上存在着基础血液参数的 QTL：SSC1、4、5、6、8、9、11、13 和 17 上的基因组区域。在 20 个确定的 QTL 中有 8 个达到了全基因组显著水平。此外，我们评估了 KIT 基因座，这是一个明显影响血液相关特征变异的候选基因座。利用 SSC8 上的密集单核苷酸多态性标记数据和标记辅助关联测试，证实了 KIT 基因座与血液表型的强烈关联。总之，本研究鉴定了影响猪基础血液参数的先前报道和新的 QTL。此外，这里确定的候选基因可能在阐明猪和人类血液表型变异的遗传结构方面发挥重要作用。
