Objective: To evaluate the associations between 14 biological candidate genes and scrotal hernias in pigs.
Animals: 1,534 Pietrain-based pigs, including 692 individuals from 298 pig families and 842 male pigs without family information.
Procedures: Pigs were classified as affected or unaffected for scrotal hernias. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of candidate genes were analyzed via PCR assays and genotyped. Statistical analyses were performed on the family-trio and the case-control data.
Results: 2 genes involved in collagen metabolism (homeobox A10 [HOXA10] and matrix metalloproteinases 2 [MMP2]) and 1 gene encoding zinc finger protein multitype 2 (ZFPM2, important in the development of diaphragmatic hernia) were significantly associated with hernias. Pigs with these genotypes had high odds of developing scrotal hernias in the case and control groups (2 ZFPM2 variants: odds ratio, 4.3 [95% confidence interval, 2.78 to 6.64] and 4.45[95%confidenceinterval,2.88to6.88]). Anothergene, collagentypeII A 1(COL2A1),was potentially involved in hernia development.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: HOXA10, ZFPM2, MMP2, and COL2A1 could have important roles in pig hernia development and potentially be useful for marker-assisted selection in the pig industry.
Impact for human medicine: Pigs are used for the study of many human diseases because of their physiologic similarities. Genes associated with scrotal hernias in this study may be directly used in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this defect in humans.