Effects of polymorphisms in PIT1, H-FABP, PIK3C3 and CAST genes on chemical composition, amino acid content in meat of Vietnamese indigenous fatty pig breed “I”

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of polymorphisms of PIT1/RasI, H-FABP/HinfI, PIK3C3/Hpy8I, CAST/HinfI genes and gender on chemical composition, amino acid content in meat of Vietnamese indigenous fatty pig breed “I” raised under industrial condition at Dabaco Breeding Pig Company, Phu Tho Province, Vietnam. Samples of longissimus dorsi muscle from 23 “I” pigs (12 gilts and 11 barrows) at 8 months of age were used to measure chemical composition (dry matter, protein, lipids and ash) and content of 17 amino acids (aspartic, glutamic, serine, histidine, glycine, threonine, alanine, arginine, tyrosine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, proline, cystine); while ear tissues were collected to identify polymorphisms of these genes. Chemical compositions were analyzed using ISO methods (1973, 1978, 1997, and 1998). The content of amino acids was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. The polymorphisms of four genes were identified by the PCR-RFLP technique. The results indicated that PIT1, H-FABP, PIK3C3, and CAST had no effects on chemical compositions and amino acid contents (P>0.05). Inversely, the contents of amino acids (aspartic, serine, threonine, arginine, phenylalanine, leucine, and lysine) were significantly different between gilts and barrows (P