EXCELMEAT Workshop
Biosensing Pork Quality
Lleida, 25 October 2012
The AGER-HEPIGET Italian project. Advanced research in genomics
for the Italian heavy pig production chain: structural and functional
analysis of pig genes to improve meat and carcass quality.
Davoli R1, ZambonelliP1, FontanesiL1, Dall’Olio S1, Nanni Costa L1, Braglia S1, Gaffo E1, Bigi
M1, Scotti E1, Tassone F1, Gallo M2, Buttazzoni L3, Russo V1
1
DISTAL, University of Bologna, Viale Fanin44, 40127, Bologna, Italy. 2Associazione Nazionale
Allevatori Suini, Via Lazzaro Spallanzani 4, 00161 Roma, Italy. 3Centro di ricerca per la produzione
delle carni e il miglioramento genetico (CRA), Via Salaria 31, Monterotondo Scalo, 00015 Roma, Italy
The Italian pig breeding industry has peculiar aspects as more than 70% of the Italian pig production
is dedicated to the processing of high quality Protected Designation of Origin dry cured hams,
together with a large number of other cured products. In the present project genomic tools will be
applied to introduce innovations in pig production chain to improve the quality of meat and dry
cured hams. A sample of 800 Italian Large White (ILW) Sib tested pigs obtained from ANAS (National
Association of pig breeders) will be considered. Phenotyping and collection of biological samples
(blood, muscle and fat tissue) are in progress to constitute biorepositories. In addition to fat
deposition (fat content and fatty acid composition) other meat and carcass quality traits and EBV for
several traits will be available from ANAS. Genome wide association studies will be applied
genotyping 800 DNA samples by porcine SNP60 BeadChip to identify chromosome regions
associated to fat traits. The regions of interest will be fine mapped for candidate gene analysis to
detect the causative mutations of the target traits. To create a complete catalogue of transcripts of
adipose tissue in pigs we are developing a RNA-seq approach using two subsets of ILW pigs divergent
for backfat thickness. The characterization of mRNAs and miRNAs of the fat tissue and the
comparison between the two divergent subsets will improve the knowledge of genes and molecular
processes related to fat deposition in pigs. Marker assisted selection and genome selection plans
adapted to heavy pigs traditional selection schemes will be proposed based on data and results
produced in the project.
Supported by Progetto AGER, grant n°2011-0279