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Muscle Transcriptomic Investigation of Late Fetal Development and Determinism of Maturity at Birth in Two Extreme Breeds: Meishan and Large White
Genetic progress on litter size is often accompanied by a rise of piglet mortality. The most critical time for survival is the perinatal period. Piglet maturation occurs at the end of gestation between 90 and 110 days. Maturity is an important determinant of early survival. The skeletal muscle, via glycogen storage, plays a key role in thermoregulation and adaption to extra-uterine life. A microarray analysis was executed to identify biological processes and genes with roles in muscle piglet maturity. Progeny from two extreme breeds for maturity, Meishan and Large White, were used, and the parental genome impact was observed via both pure and crossed fetuses within the same litter. Functional enrichment studies underlined genes involved in muscular development around day 90, and genes involved in metabolic functions around day 110. Key genes were identified to explain differences observed between MS and LW at birth.
Keywords:
Pig, Maturity, Microarray
