Analysis of the vomeronasal receptor repertoire, expression and allelic diversity in swine.
Here we report a comprehensive analysis of the vomeronasal receptor repertoire in pigs. We identified a total of 25 V1R sequences consisting of 10 functional genes, 3 pseudogenes, and 12 partial genes, while functional V2R and FPR genes were not present in the pig genome. Pig V1Rs were classified into three subfamilies, D, F, and J. Using direct high resolution sequencing-based typing of all functional V1Rs from 10 individuals of 5 different breeds, a total of 24 SNPs were identified, indicating that the allelic diversity of V1Rs is much lower than that of the olfactory receptors. A high expression level of V1Rs was detected in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and testes, while a low expression level of V1Rs was observed in all other tissues examined. Our results showed that pigs could serve as an interesting large animal model system to study pheromone-related neurobiology because of their genetic simplicity.
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Hunduma
H
Dinka
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Minh Thong
MT
Le
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Heekyun
H
Ha
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Hyesun
H
Cho
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Min-Kyeung
MK
Choi
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Hojun
H
Choi
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Jin-Hoi
JH
Kim
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Nagasundarapandian
N
Soundarajan
Department of Swine and Poultry Science, Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea.
Jin-Ki
JK
Park
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: chankyu@konkuk.ac.kr.
Chankyu
C
Park
D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016678:Genome; D010675:Pheromones / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011544:Pseudogenes; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics*; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000378:metabolism*
D010675:Pheromones; D018035:Receptors, Odorant
Pheromone; Swine; V1Rs; VNO; Vomeronasal receptors