Association analysis between Acetyl-Coenzyme A Acyltransferase-1 gene polymorphism and growth traits in Xiangsu pigs

Meimei Xiao; Yong Ruan; Jiajin Huang; Lingang Dai; Jiali Xu; Houqiang Xu

doi:10.3389/fgene.2024.1346903

Association analysis between Acetyl-Coenzyme A Acyltransferase-1 gene polymorphism and growth traits in Xiangsu pigs

Front Genet. 2024 May 2:15:1346903. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1346903. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Meimei Xiao^{1

2

3}, Yong Ruan^{1

2

3}, Jiajin Huang^{1

2

3}, Lingang Dai^{1

2

3}, Jiali Xu^{1

2

3}, Houqiang Xu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction in the Plateau Mountainous Region, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.
² Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.
³ College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Acetyl-Coenzyme A Acyltransferase-1 (ACAA1) is a peroxisomal acyltransferase involved in fatty acid metabolism. Current evidence does not precisely reveal the effect of the ACAA1 gene on pig growth performance.

Methods: The present study assessed the mRNA expression levels of the ACAA1 gene in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney of 6-month-old Xiangsu pigs and in the longissimus dorsi muscle at different growth stages (newborn, 6 months and 12 months of age) using RT-qPCR. The relationship between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ACAA1 gene and growth traits in 6-month-old and 12-month-old Xiangsu pigs was investigated on 184 healthy Xiangsu pigs using Sanger sequencing.

Results: The ACAA1 gene was expressed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, and longissimus dorsi muscle of 6-month-old pigs, with the highest level of expression in the liver. ACAA1 gene expression in the longissimus dorsi muscle decreased with age (p < 0.01). In addition, four SNPs were identified in the ACAA1 gene, including exon g.48810 A>G (rs343060194), intron g.51546 T>C (rs319197012), exon g.55035 T>C (rs333279910), and exon g.55088 C>T (rs322138947). Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05) was found for the four SNPs, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis revealed a strong LD between g.55035 T>C (rs333279910) and g.55088 C>T (rs322138947) (r ² = 1.000). Association analysis showed that g.48810 A>G (rs343060194), g.51546 T>C (rs319197012), g.55035 T>C (rs333279910), and g.55088 C>T (rs322138947) varied in body weight, body length, body height, abdominal circumference, leg and hip circumference and living backfat thickness between 6-month-old and 12-month-old Xiangsu pigs.

Conclusion: These findings strongly demonstrate that the ACAA1 gene can be exploited for marker-assisted selection to improve growth-related phenotypes in Xiangsu pigs and present new candidate genes for molecular pig breeding.

Keywords: ACAA1; Xiangsu pigs; fat deposition; growth traits; single-nucleotide polymorphism.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Project (QKHFQ-2018,4007, (002)), and the Guizhou Provincial Agricultural Major Industrial Scientific Research Project (QKHKYZ-2019,011).