Use of single nucleotide polymorphism in the coding region of the porcine leptin receptor gene to enhance pork production

A method of producing pigs comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces either a threonine or methionine residue at amino acid number 69 of the prepro pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele.

A method of enhancing a trait selected from the group consisting of:

• average feed intake and/or average daily weight gain, backfat, muscle mass, water holding capacity, meat color, meat pH, intramuscular fat, meat tenderness, and/or cooking loss of animals in a pig herd, the method comprising:
• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine Leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele.

A method of increasing the frequency of a desired allele in a pig herd comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele.

A pig offspring produced by a method comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele.

A pig herd having an increased frequency of a specific allele of the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein the herd is produced by a method comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele;
• d) repeating steps a) through c) until an increased allelic frequency is achieved.

A method of enhancing meat production from a swine herd comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele;
• d) repeating steps a) through c) until an increased allelic frequency for the desired allele is achieved.

A method of fixing an allele in a pig population, the method comprising:

• a) screening a plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce offspring;
• wherein the offspring have an increase frequency of the desired allele;
• d) repeating steps repeating steps a) through c) until the allelic is fixed in the population.

A method of altering the frequency an allele in a pig population, the method comprising:

• a) screening a first plurality of pigs to identify the nature of an allelic variant in the porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) gene, wherein said allelic variant produces a threonine or methionine polymorphism at amino acid number 69 of the prepro-pLEPR protein;
• b) selecting those pigs having a desired allele;
• c) using the selected pigs as sires/dams in a breeding plan to produce as offspring a second plurality of pigs;
• wherein the second plurality of pigs have an altered frequency of the desired allele, when compared with the first plurality of pigs.

A method of identifying a single nucleotide polymorphism in linkage disequilibrium with the threonine/methionine polymorphism at amino acid 69 of the prepro porcine leptin receptor (pLEPR) protein (T69M polymorphism), the method comprising:

• a) identifying at least one large-insert genomic clone containing all or a portion of the pLEPR gene;
• b) determining the sequences of all or a portion of the clone(s);
• c) identifying target regions in close proximity to the pLEPR gene;
• d) screening a panel of animals to determine the sequence of the target regions;
• e) identifying any single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in the target regions to provide a set of at least one target SNP;
• f) determine which of the target SNPs is in linkage disequilibrium with the T69M polymorphism.