Variations of Melanocortin Receptor 1 ( MC1R) Gene in Three Pig Breeds

Variations of Melanocortin Receptor 1 ( MC1R) were investigated using sequencing, PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP, in three pig breeds, Landrace, Yorkshire, and Duroc. Five polymorphic sites were found, in which 668G→C occurred within 5′ UTR, nt894insCC in coding region resulting in a premature stop at codon 56, and 1318C→T, 1554G→A, 1197G→A in coding region resulting in Ala164Val, Ala243Thr, and Asp124Asn respectively. All individuals in Landrace and Yorkshire present homozygous 668 GG, 1197 AA, 1318 CC, and 1554 GG, and have CC insertions at the 894 site, whereas the individuals in Duroc present a contrast homozygous 668 CC, 1197 GG, 1318 TT, and 1554 AA, and have no CC insertions at the corresponding site. No heterozygote has been found at these mutation sites. Presumably, 668G→C, 1318C→T, and 1554G→A may be associated with the recessive red color in the Duroc breed, and nt894insCC making 1197G→A nonsense may be associated with the white color in Landrace and Yorkshire breeds.