Identification of a single nucleotide polymorphism in porcine testis cytochrome P450-c17 (CYP17) and its effect on steroidogenesis

Recent genetic advances on boar taint reduction as an alternative to castration: a review

Boar taint is an unpleasant odor in male pig meat, mainly caused by androstenone, skatole, and indole, which are deposited in the fat tissue. Piglet castration is the most common practice to prevent boar taint. However, castration is likely to be banished in a few years due to animal welfare concerns. Alternatives to castration, such as genetic selection, have been assessed. Androstenone and skatole have moderate to high heritability, which makes it feasible to select against these compounds. This review presents the latest results obtained on genetic selection against boar taint, on correlation with other traits, on differences in breeds, and on candidate genes related to boar taint. QTLs for androstenone and skatole have been reported mainly on chromosomes 6, 7, and 14. These chromosomes were reported to contain genes responsible for synthesis and degradation of androstenone and skatole. A myriad of work has been done to find markers or genes that can be used to select animals with lower boar taint. The selection against boar taint could decrease performance of some reproduction traits. However, a favorable response on production traits has been observed by selecting against boar taint. Selection results have shown that it is possible to reduce boar taint in few generations. In addition, modifications in diet and environment conditions could be associated with genetic selection to reduce boar taint. Nevertheless, costs to measure and select against boar taint should be rewarded with incentives from the market; otherwise, it would be difficult to implement genetic selection.

Transcript profiling of candidate genes in testis of pigs exhibiting large differences in androstenone levels

BACKGROUND

Boar taint is an unpleasant odor and flavor of the meat and occurs in a high proportion of uncastrated male pigs. Androstenone, a steroid produced in testis and acting as a sex pheromone regulating reproductive function in female pigs, is one of the main compounds responsible for boar taint. The primary goal of the present investigation was to determine the differential gene expression of selected candidate genes related to levels of androstenone in pigs.

RESULTS

Altogether 2560 boars from the Norwegian Landrace and Duroc populations were included in this study. Testicle samples from the 192 boars with most extreme high or low levels of androstenone in fat were used for RNA extraction, and 15 candidate genes were selected and analyzed by real-competitive PCR analysis. The genes Cytochrome P450 c17 (CYP17A1), Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member C4 (AKR1C4), Short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase family member 4 (DHRS4), Ferritin light polypeptide (FTL), Sulfotransferase family 2A, dehydroepiandrosterone-preferring member 1 (SULT2A1), Cytochrome P450 subfamily XIA polypeptide 1 (CYP11A1), Cytochrome b5 (CYB5A), and 17-beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase IV (HSD17B4) were all found to be significantly (P < 0.05) up-regulated in high androstenone boars in both Duroc and Landrace. Furthermore, Cytochrome P450 c19A2 (CYP19A2) was down-regulated and progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) was up-regulated in high-androstenone Duroc boars only, while CYP21 was significantly down-regulated (2.5) in high-androstenone Landrace only. The genes Nuclear Receptor co-activator 4 (NCOA4), Sphingomyrlin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD3B) were not significantly differentially expressed in any breeds. Additionally, association studies were performed for the genes with one or more detected SNPs. Association between SNP and androstenone level was observed in CYB5A only, suggesting cis-regulation of the differential transcription in this gene.

CONCLUSION

A large pig material of highly extreme androstenone levels is investigated. The current study contributes to the knowledge about which genes that is differentially expressed regard to the levels of androstenone in pigs. Results in this paper suggest that several genes are important in the regulation of androstenone level in boars and warrant further evaluation of the above mentioned candidate genes, including analyses in different breeds, identification of causal mutations and possible gene interactions.

Gene expression profiles in testis of pigs with extreme high and low levels of androstenone

Background:

Boar taint is a major obstacle when using uncastrated male pigs for swine production. One of the main compounds causing this taint is androstenone, a pheromone produced in porcine testis. Here we use microarrays to study the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously in testis of high and low androstenone boars. The study allows identification of genes and pathways associated with elevated androstenone levels, which is essential for recognising potential molecular markers for breeding purposes.

Results:

Testicular tissue was collected from 60 boars, 30 with extreme high and 30 with extreme low levels of androstenone, from each of the two breeds Duroc and Norwegian Landrace. The samples were hybridised to porcine arrays containing 26,877 cDNA clones, detecting 563 and 160 genes that were differentially expressed (p < 0.01) in Duroc and Norwegian Landrace, respectively. Of these significantly up- and down-regulated clones, 72 were found to be common for the two breeds, suggesting the possibility of both general and breed specific mechanisms in regulation of, or response to androstenone levels in boars. Ten genes were chosen for verification of expression patterns by quantitative real competitive PCR and real-time PCR. As expected, our results point towards steroid hormone metabolism and biosynthesis as important biological processes for the androstenone levels, but other potential pathways were identified as well. Among these were oxidoreductase activity, ferric iron binding, iron ion binding and electron transport activities. Genes belonging to the cytochrome P450 and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase families were highly up-regulated, in addition to several genes encoding different families of conjugation enzymes. Furthermore, a number of genes encoding transcription factors were found both up- and down-regulated. The high number of clones belonging to ferric iron and iron ion binding suggests an importance of these genes, and the association between these pathways and androstenone levels is not previously described.

Conclusion:

This study contributes to the understanding of the complex genetic system controlling and responding to androstenone levels in pig testis. The identification of new pathways and genes involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of androstenone is an important first step towards finding molecular markers to reduce boar taint.

Expression of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, cytochrome P450-c17, and sulfotransferase 2B1 proteins in liver and testis of pigs of two breeds: relationship with adipose tissue androstenone concentration

An excessive accumulation of androstenone in pig adipose tissue is a major contributor to the phenomenon of boar taint. Androstenone deposition is dependent on the rate of androstenone biosynthesis in testis and androstenone degradation in liver. The aim of the current study was to examine the possibility of the existence of breed-specific mechanisms controlling androstenone accumulation in pig adipose tissue. The specific objective was to investigate the expression of some of the key enzymes involved in testicular and hepatic androstenone metabolism in pigs of 2 breeds by using animals with high and low androstenone concentrations within each breed. The study was conducted with Norwegian Landrace (N. Landrace) and Duroc boars. The mean androstenone values for the low- and high-androstenone groups were 0.1 +/- 0.01 microg/g and 7.58 +/- 0.68 microg/g for N. Landrace boars, and 0.22 +/- 0.04 microg/g and 13.55 +/- 1.14 microg/g for Duroc boars. The enzymes investigated were 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD), cytochrome P450-c17, and sulfotransferase 2B1 (SULT2B1). Expression of cytochrome P450-c17 in liver and testis did not differ between animals with high and low androstenone concentrations in either the N. Landrace or Duroc breed. Expression of hepatic 3beta-HSD, which catalyzes the first stage of androstenone degradation, was decreased in high-androstenone N. Landrace boars (P < 0.01), but not in high-androstenone Duroc boars. In contrast, the expression of hepatic SULT2B1, which catalyzes the second stage of steroid catabolism, was decreased in high-androstenone Duroc animals (P < 0.05), but not in high-androstenone N. Landrace animals. Sulfotransferase 2B1 was also inhibited in testis of high-androstenone pigs of both breeds compared with low-androstenone animals. We report breed differences in expression of the androstenone-metabolizing enzymes 3beta-HSD and SULT2B1 in the liver of high- and low-androstenone pigs. It is suggested that accumulation of androstenone in adipose tissue of N. Landrace boars might be related to a low rate of hepatic androstenone degradation in metabolic stage I, whereas the high androstenone concentration in Duroc boars might be related to a low rate of androstenone metabolism in metabolic stage II.