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Abstract
<p class="first" id="d6232448e139">DGAT2 (acyl-CoA: diacylglycerol acyltransferase,
EC2.3.1.20) is a member of acyl-CoA:
monoacylglycerol acyltransferase (MGAT) family, which catalyzes one fatty acyl-CoA
and diacylglycerol (DG) molecule to form triacylglycerols (TG) and is the final and
rate-limiting step in the reaction of TG synthesis pathways. We previously showed
that, during pig development, the fold change of DGAT2 mRNA in backfat tissue is much
higher than that of DGAT1, implying that DGAT2 is more important in regulating porcine
fat deposition. In this study, a 13 bp indel polymorphism located at 905 bp downstream
from the stop codon (TGA) of porcine DGAT2 was found and two alleles of A (with 13
bp insertion) and B (no insertion) were designated. Allele A is dominant in all pig
populations investigated. The backfat thickness of individuals with genotype AA is
significantly lower than those with genotype AB (p<0.01), and the lean percentage
of individuals with genotype AA is significantly higher than those with genotype AB
(p<0.05) in Junmu No. 1 white pig population. The secondary structure of 3'-UTR
without
the 13 bp insertion is slightly less stable than with the 13 bp insertion type. In
vitro assay indicates that, after differentiation, the luciferase activity was significantly
higher for pGL3-B compared to pGL3-A vector (p<0.001). Moreover, the DGAT2 mRNA
expression
in the backfat tissue of pigs with genotype BB was significantly higher than AB in
commercial DLY pigs (p<0.05). These results suggest that the 13bp indel polymorphism
in the 3'-UTR of porcine DGAT2 most likely affects fat deposition by altering its
expression in pigs.
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