SNP in the 5′ flanking region of the pig FTO gene is associated with fatness in Polish Landrace

In humans the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene represents a low-penetrance susceptibility gene for obesity risk. The pig (Sus scrofa) is an important model organism for human obesity. The purpose of this study was to search for polymorphisms in the 5′ flanking region of the pig FTO gene and to analyze its association with fatness and other production traits in three modern pig breeds. We detected a SNP g−167 T>G (GQ179639). An association study between this SNP and fatness and performance traits in Polish Large White (PLW, n=187), Polish Landrace (PL, n=237), and a synthetic line 990 (L990, n=238) revealed multiple significant associations with back fat thickness (P=0.009), abdominal fat weight (P=0.029) and lean meat content in PL (P=0.047). Our data indicate that FTO variants can be associated with fatness traits in purebred pigs selected for low fatness and also can be useful in model studies on human obesity. An updated survey of the pig FTO gene polymorphism is also presented.