Effects of genetic variants for the swine FABP3, HMGA1, MC4R, IGF2, and FABP4 genes on fatty acid composition

- Genetic variations of FABP3, IGF2 and MC4R are associated with FAC.
- The identified SNPs are useful as candidate markers.
- Genotypes of HMGA1 and FABP4 were not associated with FAC.
- Allele frequencies were significantly different between KNP and Duroc.

This study aimed to verify genetic relationships between fatty acid composition (FAC) and genotypes of several genes (FABP3, HMGA1, MC4R, IGF2, and FABP4) using pig breeds. The effects of genetic variations on FAC of the longissimus muscle were statistically significant with additive and dominance effects. The polymorphisms of FABP3 and IGF2 had the largest effects on stearic (C18:0, P = 0.009) and γ-linoleic (C18:3n6, P = 0.039) acids, respectively, whereas HMGA1 and FABP4 did not show significances. The analysis revealed that MC4R was significantly associated with palmitoleic acid (C16:ln7) and MUFA. Allele frequencies of the genes examined in this analysis were significantly skewed or fixed in the Korean native pig (KNP), whereas the allele frequencies of the crossbreds tended to fall between those of the purebreds except that HMGA1 and FABP4 had approximately the same allele frequencies with Duroc and KNP, respectively. The polymorphisms found in this study could be used as genetic markers in breeding programs to simultaneously change proportions of fatty acids in muscle tissues.