SINE Insertion May Act as a Repressor to Affect the Expression of Pig LEPROT and Growth Traits

Xiaoyan Wang; Chengling Chi; Jia He; Zhanyu Du; Yao Zheng; Enrico D'Alessandro; Cai Chen; Ali Shoaib Moawad; Emmanuel Asare; Chengyi Song

doi:10.3390/genes13081422

SINE Insertion May Act as a Repressor to Affect the Expression of Pig LEPROT and Growth Traits

Genes (Basel). 2022 Aug 10;13(8):1422. doi: 10.3390/genes13081422.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
² Department of Veterinary Science, Division of Animal Production, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy.
³ Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt.

Abstract

Retrotransposon is an important component of the mammalian genome. Previous studies have shown that the expression of protein-coding genes was affected by the insertion of retrotransposon into the proximal genes, and the phenotype variations would be related to the retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms (RIPs). In this study, leptin (LEP), leptin receptor (LEPR), and leptin receptor overlapping transcript (LEPROT), which play important roles in the regulation of fat synthesis and body weight, were screened to search for the RIPs and their effect on phenotype and gene expression, as well as to further study the function of the insertion. The results showed that three RIPs located in intron 1 of LEPROT and intron 2 and 21 of LEPR were identified, and they were all SINEA1, which was one type of retrotransposon. The SINE insertion at the LEPROT was the dominant allele in native pig breeds. The age of 100 kg body weight of SINE+/+ Large White individuals was significantly higher than those of SINE+/− and SINE−/− individuals (p < 0.05). The LEPROT gene expression in the liver and suet of 30-day-old SINE−/− Sujiang piglets were significantly higher than those of SINE+/+ and SINE+/− piglets (p < 0.01). The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay showed that SINE insertion in PK15 and 3T3-L1 cells significantly reduced the promoter activity of the LEPROT gene (p < 0.01). Therefore, SINE insertion can be a repressor to reduce the expression of LEPROT and could be a useful molecular marker for assisted selection of growth traits in pig breeding.

Keywords: LEPROT; RIPs; growth traits; pig; repressor.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Body Weight / genetics
Genome
Mammals / genetics
Phenotype
Receptors, Leptin* / genetics
Retroelements*
Swine / genetics

Substances

Receptors, Leptin
Retroelements

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 31872977 to Chengyi Song and 32002146 to Cai Chen); the Independent Innovation Fund Project of Agricultural Science and Technology in Jiangsu Province (CX(19)2016) to Chengyi Song; the Revitalization of Seed Industry (JBGS) in Jiangsu Province (JBGS(2021)028) to Chengyi Song; the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and the High-End Talent Support Program of Yangzhou University to Chengyi Song.