Gao Guangxiong, Gao Ning, Li Sicheng, Kuang Weijian, Zhu Lin, Jiang Wei, Yu Weiwei, Guo Jinbiao, Li Zhili, Yang Chengzhong, Zhao Yunxiang
School of Life Sciences and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China.
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Front Genet. 2021 Mar 17;12:614087. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.614087. eCollection 2021.
Meat quality is an important trait for pig-breeding programs aiming to meet consumers' demands. Geneticists must improve meat quality based on their understanding of the underlying genetic mechanisms. Previous studies showed that most meat-quality indicators were low-to-moderate heritability traits; therefore, improving meat quality using conventional techniques remains a challenge. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study of meat-quality traits using the GeneSeek Porcine SNP50K BeadChip in 582 crossbred Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) commercial pigs (249 males and 333 females). Meat conductivity, marbling score, moisture, meat color, pH, and intramuscular fat (IMF) content were investigated. The genome-wide association study was performed using both fixed and random model Circulating Probability Unification (FarmCPU) and a mixed linear model (MLM) with the rMVP software. The genomic heritability of the studied traits ranged from 0.13 ± 0.07 to 0.55 ± 0.08 for conductivity and meat color, respectively. Thirty-two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified for meat quality in the crossbred pigs using both FarmCPU and MLM. Among the detected SNPs, five, nine, seven, four, six, and five were significantly associated with conductivity, IMF, marbling score, meat color, moisture, and pH, respectively. Several candidate genes for meat quality were identified in the detected genomic regions. These findings will contribute to the ongoing improvement of meat quality, meeting consumer demands and improving the economic outlook for the swine industry.
肉质是旨在满足消费者需求的养猪计划中的一个重要性状。遗传学家必须在了解潜在遗传机制的基础上提高肉质。先前的研究表明，大多数肉质指标是低至中等遗传力的性状；因此，使用传统技术改善肉质仍然是一项挑战。在此，我们使用GeneSeek猪SNP50K芯片对582头杜洛克×（长白猪×大白猪）杂交商品猪（249头雄性和333头雌性）的肉质性状进行了全基因组关联研究。研究了肉的电导率、大理石花纹评分、水分、肉色、pH值和肌内脂肪（IMF）含量。使用固定和随机模型循环概率统一法（FarmCPU）以及rMVP软件中的混合线性模型（MLM）进行全基因组关联研究。所研究性状的基因组遗传力范围分别为电导率0.13±0.07至肉色0.55±0.08。使用FarmCPU和MLM在杂交猪中鉴定出32个与肉质相关的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）。在检测到的SNP中，分别有5个、9个、7个、4个、6个和5个与电导率、IMF、大理石花纹评分、肉色、水分和pH值显著相关。在检测到的基因组区域中鉴定出了几个肉质候选基因。这些发现将有助于持续改善肉质，满足消费者需求，并改善养猪业的经济前景。
