Abstract: The PGC-1α gene was considered as one of the potential candidate genes for meat quality traits in pig considering its function of regulation in energy and fat metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of the C430S polymorphic site of the PGC-1α gene with intramuscular fat content and muscle fibre area and perimeter in Tibetan pigs and the gene expression changes pattern at different ages. The C430S polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-RFLP using AluI restriction enzyme. Statistical analyses revealed that the C430S genotypes were significantly associated with intramuscular fat content (p<0.01) and significantly affected area and perimeter of muscle fibre (p<0.05, p<0.05). The gene expression levels of PGC-1α in heart, liver, spleen and kidney were examined in Tibetan pigs at 60, 90,120,150 and 180 days, respectively by quantitative real-time PCR. The result indicated that the mRNA abundance in heart and liver were increasing from 60-180 days (p<0.01, p>0.05) whereas in spleen and kidney, it were increasing from 60-120 days (p<0.01, p<0.01) then decreasing from 150-180 days (p>0.05, p>0.05).The mRNA abundance in heart and kidney were higher than in liver and spleen which was in agreement with the function of PGC-1α in adaptive thermogenesis. On the basis of these results, we suggested that the C430S polymorphism could be used as a meaningful molecular marker to improve meat quality.
R. Liu, J.L. Li and X.B. Lv, 2011. Association of PGC-1α Gene with Intramuscular Fat Content and Muscle Fiber Traits and Gene Expression in Tibetan Pigs. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 10: 2301-2304.