Length polymorphism in OGT between Korean native pig, Chinese Meishan, and the Western pig breeds.
BACKGROUND
The Korean native pig (KNP) is generally thought to have come from northern China to the Korean peninsula approximately 2000 years ago. KNP pigs were at the brink of extinction in the 1980s, since then efforts have been made to restore the breed by bringing together the remaining stocks in South Korea. As a result, KNP was registered as a breed in 2006. To find additional breed-specific markers that are distinct among pig breeds, variations in O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) were investigated. OGT is located on chromosome X and catalyzes the post-translational addition of a single O-linked-β-N-acetylglucosamine to target proteins.


RESULTS
Length polymorphism in the intron 20 of OGT was identified. The intron 20 of OGT from Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire breeds was 281-bp longer than that from either KNP or Chinese Meishan pigs. The difference between the Western pig breeds (BB genotype) and KNP or Meishan pigs (AA genotype) was due to an inserted 276-bp element and the 5-bp ACTTG.


CONCLUSIONS
The polymorphism in OGT identified in this study may be used as an additional marker for determining the breed of origin among Meishan and the Western pig breeds. The length polymorphism suggests that the locus near OGT is not fixed in KNP. This marker would be relevant in determining the breed of origin in crossbred pigs between KNP pigs with known genotypes and the Western pig breeds with BB genotypes, thus confirming the contribution of the X chromosome from each breed.
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Science, and Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do 561-756 Republic of Korea.
Yoon Seok
YS
Nam
Swine Science Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, 114 Sinbang 1-gil, Seonghwan-eup, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam 331-801 Republic of Korea.
Doo-Wan
DW
Kim
Swine Science Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, 114 Sinbang 1-gil, Seonghwan-eup, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam 331-801 Republic of Korea.
Myoung-Jik
MJ
Kim
Swine Science Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, 114 Sinbang 1-gil, Seonghwan-eup, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam 331-801 Republic of Korea.
Kyu-Ho
KH
Cho
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Science, and Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do 561-756 Republic of Korea.|567 Baekje-Daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do 561-756 Republic of Korea.
Jong Gug
JG
Kim
Genotype; KNP; Length polymorphism; O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase; OGT