杜洛克母猪初情期日龄全基因组关联分析

A Genome-wide Association Study for Age at Puberty of Duroc Pigs

【目的】母猪初情期日龄是重要的经济性状,直接影响母猪的繁殖利用年限,但调控母猪初情期启动的机制尚不清楚。【方法】基于全基因组芯片数据,对571头杜洛克母猪初情期日龄进行全基因组关联分析,筛选影响母猪初情期日龄的重要基因。【结果】571头杜洛克母猪的初情期日龄符合正态分布,初情期日龄最早为173 d,最晚为291 d,平均为224 d;初情期越早的母猪表现出更高的窝产仔数和平均窝重;通过质控,共有30281 SNP位点被用于全基因组关联分析,在前10个潜在SNP位点附近,找到ABCC8、BCAR3、NELL2和NSF等基因,这些基因的主要功能富集在ATP binding、第二性征发育、激素分泌的调控方面。【结论】初步筛选了影响母猪初情期日龄的基因,但具体功能需要进一步研究确认。此研究不仅能为解析母猪初情期启动的遗传机制提供参考,还能为母猪初情期日龄的遗传改良提供一定的理论基础。

【Objective】The age at puberty of sow is one of the important economic traits,which has a direct impact on the reproductive longevity in sows.However,the regulatory mechanism for the starting of age at puberty is not clear.【Method】Based on the genomic microarray data,an genome-wide association analysis was performed for age at puberty of 571 Duroc sows to screen out the important factors affecting the age at puberty.【Result】It was found that the age at puberty of 571 Duroc sows was normally distributed,and the average age of puberty was 224 days.The earliest age of puberty was 173 days,and the last age was 291 days.Duroc sows with earlier age at puberty showed better litter size and average litter weight.After the quality control,30281 SNP loci were selected and used for genome-wide association analysis.There was no SNP that are significantly associated with age at puberty in pigs.However,genes such as ABCC8,BCAR3,NELL2 and NSF were found around the top 10 potential SNP loci,and these genes were mainly enriched in the biological functions of ATP binding,secondary sexual development and hormone secretion regulation.【Conclusion】The genes related to age at puberty were preliminarily identified in Duroc sows,however,further research is required to confirm their biological functions.These results can provide references for the genetic mechanism for the starting of puberty and provide a theoretical basis for the genetic improvement of age at puberty of sows.