Polymorphism detection of porcine PSMC3, PSMC6 and PSMD3 genes and their association with partial growth, carcass traits, meat quality and immune traits

Abstract

PSMC3, PSMC6 and PSMD3 genes encode the proteasome 26S ATPase subunit 3, subunit 6 and the non-ATPase subunit 3, respectively, and exert the function in antigen processing and presentation. So these three genes were considered as the candidate genes that have the effect on porcine production and immune traits in this study. Genetic variations of these three genes were investigated and the single nucleotide polymorphism-based (SNPs-based) association analyses were studied initially. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) revealed that there is a MvaI polymorphic site in intron3 of PSMC3 gene and a MboI polymorphic site within intron 5 of PSMC6 gene, as well as a RsaI polymorphic site within exon 10 of the PSMD3 gene. χ2 analysis presented that allele frequencies differed among four breeds (Meishan, Erhualian, Qingping pig and Duroc) at PSMC3 and PSMD3 loci (P < 0.01). Association analysis showed that the PSMC3 gene has an effect on average backfat thickness (P < 0.01), total erythrocytes (P < 0.01) and hematocrit (P < 0.01), and there is a significant association between the PSMD3 genotypes and the mean corpuscular volume. PSMC6 has no effect on the production and immune traits we studied. Key words: Porcine, PSMC3, PSMC6, PSMD3, polymorphism, association analysis