Molecular Characterization and Chromosomal Mapping of the Porcine AMP-activated Protein Kinase α2 (PRKAA2) Gene

Abstract

AMP-activated protein kinase alpha 2 (PRKAA2) plays a key role in regulation of fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism. This study investigated the porcine PRKAA2 gene as a positional candidate for intramuscular fat and backfat thickness traits in pig chromosome 6. A partial fragment of the porcine PRKAA2 gene, amplified by PCR, contained a putative intron 3 including a part of exon 3 and 4, comparable with that of human PRKAA2 gene. Within the fragment, several single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified using multiple sequence alignments. Of these, TaqI restriction enzyme polymorphism was used for genotyping various pig breeds including Korean reference family. Using linkage and physical mapping, the porcine PRKAA2 gene was mapped in the region between microsatellite markers SW1881 and SW1680 on chromosome 6. Allele frequencies were quite different among pig breeds. The full length cDNA of the porcine PRKAA2 (2,145 bp) obtained by RACE containing 1,656 bp open reading frame of deduced 552 amino acids, had sequence identities with PRKAA2 of human (98.2%), rat (97.8%), and mouse (97.5%). These results suggested that the porcine PRKAA2 is a positional candidate gene for fat deposition trait at near telomeric region of the long arm of SSC 6.

Carcass traits, fatty acid composition, gene expression, oxidative stability and quality attributes of different muscles in Dorper lambs fed Nigella sativa seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis leaves and their combination

“…The PRKAA2 plays an important role in the regulation of FA and cholesterol [ 35 ]. Dietary supplementation of medicinal plants affected the expression of PRKAA2 gene in LD and ST muscles in Dorper lambs.…”

Identification of the Genetic Basis for the Large-tailed Phenotypic Trait in Han Sheep Through Integrated mRNA and miRNA Analysis of Tail Fat Tissue Samples

“…PRKAA2 (Protein Kinase AMP-Activated Catalytic Subunit Alpha 2) encodes a catalytic subunit of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is a central regulator of cellular energy status, and involved in the glucose and lipid metabolism [82]. Lee et al (2007) have investigated the porcine PRKAA2 gene as a positional candidate regulator of intramuscular fat and backfat thickness traits in pig chromosome 6 [83]. SOAT2 (Sterol O-acyltransferase 2), also known as ACAT2, encodes an enzyme that is primarily expressed in the intestine and liver and that controls cholesterol esteri cation, beta-oxidation, and lipid metabolism [84].…”