Genome-wide Association Study for Loin Marbling Score in Canadian Duroc pigs

A. Neustaeter1, D.A. Grossi1, M. Jafarikia2, M. Sargolzaei1,3, F. Schenkel1

1Centre For Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal & Poultry Science, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1
2Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement Inc., #75-960 Carling Ave., Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0C6
3The Semex Alliance, 130 Stone Road West, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 3Z2

Abstract: The objective of this investigation was to perform a genome-wide association study to identify chromosomal regions associated with loin marbling score (LMS) in Duroc pigs. A Generalized quasi-likelihood scoring test and a 10% false discovery rate at chromosomewise level were used to identify the SNPs associated with LMS estimated breeding values. A total of 35 SNPs located on chromosomes 3, 5, 9, 10 and 18 were significantly associated with LMS and 47 genes were mapped either harboring or being next to these SNPs. Some of the significant SNPs were located close to or within genes (APOB, SORL1, SC5DL, FGF23, GRIK4, CLCN1) that play role in biological processes and pathways related to lipid metabolism and fat deposition, which were significantly enriched in functional analyses. The identified genes are potential candidate genes for the underlying genetic variation in marbling score in Duroc pigs.

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Poster

Presented at the 10th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, August 17-24, Vancouver, BC, Canada