Confirmation of the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the porcine LDHA gene and average daily gain and correlated traits in Italian Large White pigs

The lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) gene encodes for an enzyme predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle where it catalyses the recycling reaction of L-lactate in the final step of the anaerobic glycolysis. This gene is localized on porcine chromosome 2 (SSC2) where several reports have also localized QTLs for carcass traits and growth rate. We identified that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in exon 3 of the porcine LDHA gene (AJ557234:g.46G>T) was associated with average daily gain (ADG) in Italian Large White pigs. We herein confirm our previous results analysing this marker in a larger number of animals using a selective genotyping approach based on extreme and divergent estimated breeding values (EBV) for ADG and evaluated the effects of the g.46G>T SNP on EBV for several other traits (back fat thickness, BFT; feed:gain ratio, FGR; ham weight, HW; and lean cut content, LC).