Pig HDL-binding protein (HDLBP) genotype is associated with intramuscular fat percentage

High density lipoprotein binding protein (HDLBP) or vigilin is a molecule with a broad range of functions dealing with the maintenance of heterochromatin structure and the regulation of gene expression. There is evidence that HDLBP expression is modulated by the intracellular levels of cholesterol. Moreover, vigilin is differentially expressed in the macrophages and smooth muscle cells of atherosclerotic plaques with regard to those of nondiseased coronary intima. In this work, we have sequenced 98% of the coding region of the pig HDLBP gene. Sequence alignment allowed us to identify a c.3120G>A synonymous polymorphism at exon 23 that segregated in a commercial Duroc population. Performance of an association analysis with serum lipid levels and diverse fatness and carcass traits allowed us to identify an experiment-wide significant association between this polymorphism and intramuscular fat content of longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle (P = 0.0034). Moreover, we have detected a suggestive association between HDLBP genotype and ham weight (P = 0.0078).