Quantitative trait loci for meat quality traits in pigs considering imprinting and epistatic effects

The aim of the research was to gain a better understanding of the genomic regulation of meat quality by investigating individual and epistatic QTL in a three-generation full-sib population (Pietrain × crossbred dam line). In total, 386 animals were genotyped for 96 markers. Analysed traits included pH, reflectance value, conductivity, and meat colour. Thirteen significant individual QTL were identified. The most significant QTL were detected on SSC1 and SSC9 for pH, on SSC4 for meat colour, and on SSC8 for conductivity, accounting for 3.4% to 4.7% of the phenotypic variance. Nine significant epistatic QTL pairs were detected accounting for between 5.7% and 10.9% of the phenotypic variance. Epistatic QTL pairs showing the largest effects were for reflectance value between two locations of SSC4, and for pH between SSC10 and SSC13, explaining 9.5% and 10.9% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. This study indicates that meat quality traits are influenced by numerous QTL as well as a complex network of interactions.