Abstract
Nuclear receptor subfamily 4, group A, member 1 (NR4A1), other aliase NGFI-B, is an immediate-early gene that encodes an orphan nuclear receptor, which play a potential role in the ovulatory process. In this study, a 4,870 bp fragment covered the complete coding region (CDS) and its unique intron sequences of porcine NR4A1 gene was obtained. The reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicated that NR4A1 was highly expressed in ovary, uterus, kidney, heart but at very low level in oviduct and not expressed in other tissues. Compared the sequence of CDS and its unique intron of Large White and Meishan pigs, a A/G mutation in intron 5 was found and a PCR-Dde1-RFLP genotyping assay was developed. Association of the SNP and litter size was assessed in two populations [purebred Large White and an experimental synthetic Line (DIV) sows]. Statistical analysis demonstrated that, in the first parity, AG animals in experimental synthetic Line (DIV) sows had 1.805 more piglets born compared to the GG animals (P < 0.05). For all parities, in the purebred Large White pigs, those with the GG genotype had an additional 0.877 piglets born and 0.780 piglets born alive compared to the AA animals (P < 0.05), those with the AG genotype had additional 0.780 piglets born compared to the AA animals (P < 0.05). In addition, significant additive effect of 0.438 ± 0.182 piglets/litter and 0.368 ± 0.165 piglets/litter on piglets born and piglets born alive were detected in the purebred Large White lines (P < 0.05), respectively. Therefore, NR4A1 gene was significantly associated with litter size in two populations and could be a useful molecular marker in selection for increasing litter size in pigs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mangelsdorf DJ, Thummel C, Beato M et al (1995) The nuclear receptor superfamily: the second decade. Cell 83:835–839
Zlotkin T, Farkash Y, Orly J (1986) Cell specific expression of immunoreactive cholesterol side chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 during follicular development in the ovary. Endocrinology 119:2809–2820
Ronen-Fuhrmann T, Timberg R, King SR et al (1998) Spatio-temporal expression patterns of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) during follicular development in the rat ovary. Endocrinology 139:303–315
Park JI, Park HJ, Choi HS et al (2001) Gonadotropin regulation of NGFI-B messenger ribonucleic acid expression during ovarian follicle development in the rat. Endocrinology 142:3051–3059
Xiong YZ (1999) Pig biochemistry and molecular genetics: experimental introduction. Chinese Agriculture Press, Beijing
Liu BH (1998) Statistical genomics: linkage, mapping and QTL analysis. CRC Press, LLC American, Boca Raton, p 404
Lee SL, Wesselschmidt RL, Linette GP et al (1995) Unimpaired thymic and peripheral T cell death in mice lacking the nuclear receptor NGFI-B (Nur77). Science 269:532–534
Crawford PA, Sadovsky Y, Woodson K et al (1995) Adrenocortical function and regulation of the steroid 21-hydroxylase gene in NGFI-B-deficient mice. Mol Cell Biol 15:4331–4336
Stocco CO, Zhong L, Sugimoto Y et al (2000) Prostaglandin F2a induced expression of 20ahydroxysteroid dehydrogenase involves the transcription factor Nur77. J Biol Chem 275:37202–37211
Bachl J, Olsson C, Chitkara N et al (1998) The Ig mutator is dependent on the presence, position and orientation of the large intron enhancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci 5:2396–2399
Nobuyoshi M, Lin XT, Takimoto Y et al (1997) Transcription regulation of PDGF A-chain gene by first intron elements. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 3:569–572
Van Laere AS, Nguyen M, Braunschweig M et al (2003) A regulatory mutation in IGF2 causes a major QTL effect on muscle growth in the pig. Nature 425:832–836
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Technology Research and Development Project of China (2006BAD01A08-01) and the National “863” Project of P. R. China (2007AA10Z166, 2007AA10Z162).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, L.Q., Li, F.E., Deng, C.Y. et al. Molecular cloning, tissue expression and association of porcine NR4A1 gene with reproductive traits. Mol Biol Rep 38, 103–114 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-010-0083-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-010-0083-5