Genetic control of longissimus dorsi muscle gene expression variation and joint analysis with phenotypic quantitative trait loci in pigs

摘要

BackgroundEconomically important growth and meat quality traits in pigs are controlled by cascading molecular events occurring during development and continuing throughout the conversion of muscle to meat. However, little is known about the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in this process. Evaluating transcriptomic profiles of skeletal muscle during the initial steps leading to the conversion of muscle to meat can identify key regulators of polygenic phenotypes. In addition, mapping transcript abundance through genome-wide association analysis using high-density marker genotypes allows identification of genomic regions that control gene expression, referred to as expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). In this study, we perform eQTL analyses to identify potential candidate genes and molecular markers regulating growth and meat quality traits in pigs.