Physical Assignment of Adipocyte Determination & Differentiation Factor-1 (ADD1) and Pyruvate Dehydrogenase E1-alpha (PDHA1) in the Pig

 

Rebecca.S. Emnett¹, Steven J. Moeller¹, Max F. Rothschild², Eli Grindflek³, Keith M. Irvin¹, & David L. Meeker¹

¹The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, ²Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa and ³Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway

 

Improvement of meat quality has become one of the top priorities of the pork industry in recent years. Many studies have found correlations between traits associated with fat metabolism and differences in meat quality traits. Adipocyte determination and differentiation factor-1 (ADD1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase E1-alpha (PDHA1) were mapped in the pig for study as potential candidate genes for pork quality. ADD1 is a transcription factor believed to play a role in encoding enzymes of lipid biosynthesis and may also be involved in the control of plasma cholesterol levels. PDHA1 has been found to catalyze the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA. A deficiency of the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase is one of the most commonly defined genetic defects of mitochondrial energy metabolism resulting in lactic acidosis. Primers were designed using porcine cDNA sequence. Results of a pig-rodent somatic cell hybrid panel indicated that ADD1 was located on pig chromosome 12 (SSC 12) with 100% probability and the regional assignment was SSC12q11-q15. PDHA1 was determined to be on SSCXp22-p23 with 100% probability. These results are similar to the mapping locations predicted from human-pig comparative mapping studies. Linkage analysis using PiGMaP families have confirmed the location of ADD1 to this area of SSC12. Future analysis to confirm these results for PDHA1 are being conducted, as well as association studies to characterize their effects on meat quality in the pig.

 

Key Word: Physical Mapping, Molecular Markers, Meat Quality