A quantitative trait locus for oleic fatty acid content on Sus scrofa chromosome 7

A partial genome scan using microsatellite markers was conducted to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 10 fatty acid contents of backfat on 15 chromosomes in a porcine resource population. Two QTLs were discovered on Sus scrofa chromosome 4 (SSC4) and SSC7. The QTL on SSC4 was located between marker loci sw1336 and sw512, and this QTL was detected (P < 0.05) only for linoleic acid. Its position was in proximity of those mapped for linoleic acid content in previous studies. The QTL on SSC7 was mapped between markers swr1343 and sw2155, and it was significant (P < 0.05) only for oleic acid. A novelty of the QTL for oleic acid was suggested because the QTL was located far from any other QTLs previously mapped for fatness traits. The QTL on SSC7 explained 19% of phenotypic variation for oleic acid content. Further studies on fine mapping and positional comparative candidate gene analysis would be the next step toward better understanding of the genetic architecture of fatty acid contents.