Freitas Felipe André Oliveira, Brito Luiz F, Silva-Vignato Bárbara, Nery Ciconello Fernanda, de Almeida Vivian Vezzoni, Cesar Aline Silva Mello
Department of Food Science and Technology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil.
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
Front Genet. 2025 Mar 5;16:1533424. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1533424. eCollection 2025.
Identifying expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL) and functional candidate variants associated with blood biochemical parameters can contribute to the understanding of genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation in complex traits in pigs. We identified eQTLs through gene expression levels in muscle and liver tissues of Large White pigs. The identified eQTL were then tested for association with biochemical parameters, cytokine profiles, and performance traits of pigs. A total of 41,759 SNPs and 15,093 and 15,516 expression gene levels from muscle and liver tissues, respectively, enabled the identification of 1,199 eQTL. The eQTL identified related the SNP rs345667860 as significantly associated with interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 in liver tissue, while the rs695637860 SNP was associated with aspartate aminotransferase and interleukin-6, and rs337362164 was associated with high-density lipoprotein of the blood serum. In conclusion, the identification of three eQTL significantly associated with aspartate aminotransferase and cytokine levels in both serum and liver tissues suggests a potential role for these variants in modulating immune function and overall health in production pigs. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore their potential for improving pig health and productivity.
鉴定与血液生化参数相关的表达数量性状基因座（eQTL）和功能性候选变异，有助于理解猪复杂性状表型变异背后的遗传机制。我们通过大白猪肌肉和肝脏组织中的基因表达水平鉴定了eQTL。然后对鉴定出的eQTL进行检测，以确定其与猪的生化参数、细胞因子谱和生产性能性状的相关性。总共41,759个单核苷酸多态性（SNP）以及分别来自肌肉和肝脏组织的15,093个和15,516个表达基因水平，使得能够鉴定出1,199个eQTL。所鉴定的eQTL中，SNP rs345667860与肝脏组织中的白细胞介素-6和白细胞介素-18显著相关，而SNP rs695637860与天冬氨酸转氨酶和白细胞介素-6相关，rs337362164与血清高密度脂蛋白相关。总之，鉴定出三个与血清和肝脏组织中天冬氨酸转氨酶及细胞因子水平显著相关的eQTL，表明这些变异在调节生产猪的免疫功能和整体健康方面具有潜在作用。需要进一步研究来验证这些发现，并探索它们在改善猪健康和生产力方面的潜力。
