SNP detection and comparative linkage mapping of 66 bone-related genes in the pig.

Osteoporosis is a multigenic complex disorder. Though the mouse and rat are used as experimental models for human osteoporosis, the pig bone remodeling cycle is histologically more similar to human than the rat or mouse. Moreover, livestock genomics have many advantages over model organisms and human studies for complex trait dissection. Hence, in the present work 66 bone-related genes were newly genetically mapped on pig chromosomes. Comparative chromosomal patterns of bone-related genes in the pig, human, mouse and rat provide clues that the chromosomal organization of bone-related genes in pigs is more similar to human than that of the mouse and rat. Therefore, the pig can be considered as one of the better models for studying the molecular genetics of bone-related disorders. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.