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An InDel in the Promoter of Ribosomal Protein S27-like Gene Regulates Skeletal Muscle Growth in Pigs
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

An InDel in the Promoter of Ribosomal Protein S27-like Gene Regulates Skeletal Muscle Growth in Pigs

Xiaoqin Liu, Xinhao Fan, Junyu Yan, Longchao Zhang, Lixian Wang, Honor Calnan, Yalan Yang, Graham Gardner, Rong Zhou and Zhonglin Tang
Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Vol.25(3), pp.1114-1124
2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jia.2024.05.005
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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open Access

Abstract

Genetic improvement of meat production traits has always been the primary goal of pig breeding. Geographical isolation, natural and artificial selection led to significant differences in the phenotypes of meat production traits between Chinese local pigs and Western commercial pigs. Comparative genomics and transcriptomics analysis provided powerful tools to identify genetic variants and genes associated with skeletal muscle growth. However, the number of available genetic variants and genes are still limited. In this study, a comprehensive comparison of transcriptomes showed that ribosomal protein S27-like (RPS27L) gene was highly expressed in skeletal muscle and up-regulated in Chinese local pigs when compared with Western commercial pigs. Functional analysis revealed that overexpression of RPS27L promoted myoblast proliferation and repressed differentiation in pig skeletal muscle cells. Conversely, the knockdown of RPS27L led to the inhibition of myoblast proliferation and the promotion of differentiation. Notably, a 13-bp insertion-deletion (InDel) mutation was identified within the RPS27L promoter, inserted in Chinese local breeds and predominantly deleted in Western commercial breeds. Luciferase reporter assay suggested this InDel modulated RPS27L expression by influencing transcription factor 3 (TCF3) and myogenic differentiation antigen (MYOD) binding to the promoter. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between RPS27L expression and backfat thickness. Association studies demonstrated this InDel was significantly associated with the body weight of pigs at the age of 240 d. Together, our results suggested that RPS27L was a regulator of skeletal muscle development and growth, and was a candidate marker for improving meat production traits in pigs. This study not only provided a biomarker for animal breeding, but also was helpful for understanding skeletal muscle development and muscular disease in humans.

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