title: Identification of loci affecting teat number by genome-wide association studies on three pig populations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Three genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and a meta-analysis of GWAS were conducted to explore the genetic mechanisms underlying variation in pig teat number.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed three GWAS and a meta-analysis for teat number on three pig populations, including a White Duroc×Erhualian F2resource population (n = 1,743), a Chinese Erhualian pig population (n = 320) and a Chinese Sutai pig population (n = 383).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We detected 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that surpassed the genome-wide significant level on Sus Scrofa chromosomes (SSC) 1, 7, and 12 in the F2resource population, corresponding to four loci for pig teat number. We highlighted vertnin (VRTN) and lysine demethylase 6B (KDM6B) as two interesting candidate genes at the loci on SSC7 and SSC12. No significant associated SNPs were identified in the meta-analysis of GWAS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results verified the complex genetic architecture of pig teat number. The causative variants for teat number may be different in the three populations.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Jianhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Yuanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Huashui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Leilei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Liyu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Xiaopeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Chengbin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Lusheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Pig Genetic Improvement and Production Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
authors.forename: Nengshui
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ding
keywords: Genome-wide Association Study; Imputation; Meta-analysis; Pig; Teat Number