Association between the splice mutation g.8283C>A of the PHKG1 gene and meat quality traits in Large White pigs

Pork technological and sensory qualities are greatly affected by water-holding capacity (WHC), pH, color,tenderness, and chemical composition, and the identification of genetic markers affecting these traits is regardedas a primary goal in pig selection.Phosphorylase Kinase Catalytic Subunit Gamma 1(PHKG1) gene has beenreported in the literature to be a candidate gene for meat drip loss, ultimate pH, color and glycolytic potential.This study was mainly aimed at testing whetherPHKG1g.8283C > A SNP was associated with meat qualitytraits in heavy pigs. The associations betweenPHKG1g.8283C > A SNP, WHC, meat color and pH measurementswere evaluated in 250 Italian Large White pigs. The marker showed an additive effect on WHC (P= .008) and adominant effect on a* color parameter (P= .004). Further studies are needed to elucidate the effects of thispolymorphism on heavy pig meat quality traits before this mutation could be considered a marker of interest forheavy pig selection schemes.