Investigation of Obesity Candidate Genes On Porcine Fat Deposition Quantitative Trait Loci Regions

OBJECTIVES: To investigate possible obesity candidate genes in regions of porcine quantitative trait loci (QTL) for fat deposition and obesity-related phenotypes. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Chromosome mapping and QTL analyses of obesity candidate genes were performed using DNA panels from a reference pig family. Statistical association analyses of these genes were performed for fat deposition phenotypes in several other commercial pig populations. RESULTS: Eight candidate genes were mapped to QTL regions of pig chromosomes in this study. These candidate genes also served as anchor loci to determine homologous human chromosomal locations of pig fat deposition QTL. Preliminary analyses of relationships among polymorphisms of individual candidate genes and a variety of phenotypic measurements in a large number of pigs were performed. On the basis of available data, gene-gene interactions were also studied. DISCUSSION: Comparative analysis of obesity-related genes in the pig is not only important for development of marker-assisted selection on growth and fat deposition traits in the pig but also provides for an understanding of their genetic roles in the development of human obesity.