Submitted on May 14, 2008
Revised on September 15, 2008
Accepted on September 16, 2008
Mapping of quantitative trait loci for cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglyceride serum concentrations in pigs
David Gallardo1, Ramona Natacha Pena2, Marcel Amills1, Luis Varona2, Oscar Ramirez1, Josep Reixach3, Isabel Diaz2, Joan Tibau2, Joaquim Soler2, Josep M. Prat-Cuffi4, Jose L. Noguera2, and Raquel Quintanilla2*
1 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
2 IRTA
3 Seleccion Batalle S.A.
4 Hospital de PalamOs
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: raquel.quintanilla{at}irta.cat.
The fine mapping of polymorphisms influencing cholesterol, triglyceride and lipoprotein serum levels in human and mouse has provided a wealth of knowledge about the complex genetic architecture of these traits. The extension of these genetic analyses to pigs would be of outmost importance since they constitute a valuable biological and clinical model for the study of coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction. In the present work, we have performed a whole genome scan for serum lipid traits in a half-sib Duroc pig population of 350 individuals. Phenotypic registers included total cholesterol (CT), triglyceride (TG), and low (LDL) and high (HDL) density lipoprotein serum concentrations at 45 and 190 d of age. This approach allowed us to identify two genome-wide significant QTL for HDL/LDL ratio at 45 d (SSC6, 84 cM) and for TG at 190 d (SSC4, 23 cM) as well as a number of chromosome-wide significant QTL. The comparison of QTL locations at 45 d and 190 d revealed a notable lack of concordance at these two timepoints suggesting that the effects of these QTL are age-specific. Moreover, we have observed a considerable level of correspondence amongst the location of the most significant porcine lipid QTL and those identified in human. This finding might suggest that, in mammals, diverse polymorphisms located in a common set of genes are involved in the genetic variation of serum lipid levels.
