DNA Typing for SLA Class II Genes in Several Pig Breeds Using RT-PCR-RFLP Method

The usefulness of the RT-PCR-RFLP method for typing SLA class II genes (SLA-DRB1, -DQB and -DQA) which the authors established (Animal Science and Technology, 67: 211-217, 1996) was confirmed in fifty-five pigs of eight pig breeds: Landrace, Duroc, Berkshire, Meishan, Beijing Black, the Chinese miniature pig derived from Xiang pigs, the Philippine native pigs and Yucatan microswine. Since the RFLP combination pattern types (DRB1: Rsa I, Msp I; DQB: Hae III, Rsa I) of SLA-DRB1 and -DQB genes defined by the PCR-RFLP method of Shia et al. (Animal Genetics, 26: 91-100, 1995) were transformed into the results defined by this RT-PCR-RFLP method, the RFLP combination pattern types for SLA-DRB1 and -DQB were standardized. In SLA-DRB1 genes, the new RFLP patterns were found in the Chinese miniature pig derived from Xiang pigs (designated "n" for Rsa I digestion) and Meishan pigs (designated "f" for Msp I digestion). The fifty-five alleles of SLA-DRB1 reported so far (included in this report) have been classified into twenty-two groups by RFLP combination pattern types (Rsa I and Msp I). In SLA-DQB genes, the new RFLP patterns were found in the Philippine native and Meishan pigs (designated "h" for Hae III digestion), Meishan and Duroc pigs (designated "i" for Hae III digestion) and the Philippine native and Meishan pigs (designated "h" for Rsa I digestion). The twenty-four alleles of SLA-DQB have been classified into twenty-tree groups (included in this report) by RFLP combination pattern types (Hae III and Rsa I). The SLA-DQA alleles have been classified into four groups by EcoRI and Pvu II RFLP combination pattern types. The characteristics of the SLA class II genes for some breeds have been defined in this report. In SLA-DRB1 genes, three new combination pattern types (Rsa I-Msp I) were found in Meishan pigs (g-f and j-f) and the Chinese miniture pig derived from Xiang pigs (n-a). The SLA-DRB1: j-a type was predominant in the Philippine native and Meishan pigs. In SLA-DQB genes, nine new combination pattern types (Hae III-Rsa I) were found in the Philippine native pigs (h-c and h-h), the Chinese miniture pig derived from Xiang pigs (d-a and g-d), Beijing Black pigs (d-e and g-e), Berkshire pigs (g-d and g-e) and Meishan pigs (e-c, h-h, i-a). The SLADQB: h-h type was predominant in the Philippine native pigs.