One of the most important processes that occur during the transformation of muscle to meat is the pH decline as a consequence of the post-mortem metabolism of muscle tissue. Abnormal pH declines lead to pork defects such as pale, soft, and exudative meat. There is genetic variance for ultimate pH and the role of some genes on this phenotype is well established. After conducting a genome-wide association study on ultimate pH using 526 purebred Duroc pigs, we identified associated regions on Sus scrofa chromosomes (SSC) 3, 8, and 15. Functional candidate genes in these regions included PRKAG3 and PHKG1. The SSC8 region, at 71.6 Mb, was novel and, although no candidate causative gene could be identified, it may have regulatory effects. Subsequent analysis on 828 pigs from the same population confirmed the impact of the three associated regions on pH and meat color. We detected no interaction between the three regions. Further investigations are necessary to unravel the functional significance of the novel genomic region at SSC8. These variants could be used as markers in marker-assisted selection for improving meat quality.

中文翻译：

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杜洛克猪 pH 值和肉色的新 QTL 区域

肌肉向肉类转化过程中发生的最重要过程之一是肌肉组织死后代谢导致的 pH 值下降。 pH 值异常下降会导致猪肉缺陷，例如肉色苍白、肉质软、肉质渗出。最终 pH 值存在遗传差异，并且某些基因对该表型的作用已得到充分确定。使用 526 头纯种杜洛克猪对最终 pH 值进行全基因组关联研究后，我们在野猪染色体 (SSC) 3、8 和 15 上确定了相关区域。这些区域中的功能候选基因包括PRKAG3和PHKG1。 SSC8 区域大小为 71.6 Mb，是新的区域，尽管无法鉴定出候选致病基因，但它可能具有调节作用。随后对同一种群的 828 头猪进行的分析证实了三个相关区域对 pH 值和肉色的影响。我们检测到这三个区域之间没有相互作用。需要进一步研究来阐明 SSC8 的新基因组区域的功能意义。这些变体可用作标记辅助选择中的标记，以改善肉质。