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Functional and association studies on the pig HMGCR gene, a cholesterol-synthesis limiting enzyme

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2009

A. Cánovas ,
R. Quintanilla ,
D. Gallardo ,
I. Díaz ,
J. L. Noguera ,
O. Ramírez  and
R. N. Pena
A. Cánovas
Affiliation:
IRTA, Genètica i Millora Animal, 191 Alcalde Rovira Roure, 25198 Lleida, Spain
R. Quintanilla
Affiliation:
IRTA, Genètica i Millora Animal, 191 Alcalde Rovira Roure, 25198 Lleida, Spain
D. Gallardo
Affiliation:
Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
I. Díaz
Affiliation:
IRTA, Tecnologia dels Aliments, Finca Camps i Armet, 17121 Monells, Spain
J. L. Noguera
Affiliation:
IRTA, Genètica i Millora Animal, 191 Alcalde Rovira Roure, 25198 Lleida, Spain
O. Ramírez
Affiliation:
Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
R. N. Pena*
Affiliation:
IRTA, Genètica i Millora Animal, 191 Alcalde Rovira Roure, 25198 Lleida, Spain
*
†E-mail: romi.pena@irta.cat
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Abstract

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. We have studied the role of the HMGCR gene in pig lipid metabolism by means of expression and structural analysis. We describe here the complete coding region of this gene in pigs and report two synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region. We have, additionally, studied the association of one of these polymorphisms (HMGCR:c.807A>C) with several lipid deposition- and cholesterol-related traits in a half-sib population generated from a commercial Duroc line, showing in some families a positive relationship of HMGCR:c.807A allele with serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-bound cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and also with intramuscular fat (IMF) content of gluteus medius muscle. We have also assessed the expression levels in muscle and in liver from 68 Duroc individuals corresponding to the most extreme animals for the analysed traits. Liver HMGCR expression correlated negatively with the serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, carcass lean percentage and stearic acid content, while muscle expression correlated also negatively with the carcass lean percentage, stearic and linoleic acids content, but showed a positive correlation with the serum lipid cholesterol (HDL, LDL and total cholesterol), IMF and muscle oleic and palmitic fatty acid content. With this information, we have performed an association analysis of expression data with lipid metabolism phenotypic levels and the HMGCR genotype. The results indicate that HMGCR expression levels in muscle are different in the two groups of pigs with extreme values for fat deposition and total cholesterol levels, and also between animals with the different HMGCR genotypes.

Keywords

meat quality, fatty acid, intramuscular fat, gene expression, porcine

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Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , February 2010 , pp. 224 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2009

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