Isolation and molecular characterization of the porcine SLC6A14 gene excludes it as a candidate gene for fat deposition and growth.

The gene encoding solute carrier family 6 member 14 (SLC6A14) has been considered as a candidate gene affecting human obesity. In this study, full-length cDNA (2237 bp) and DNA sequence (24 541 bp) of the porcine SLC6A14 gene were isolated. The porcine SLC6A14 cDNA contains a 5&rsquo;-untranslated region of 57 bp, a 3&rsquo;-untranslated region of 254 bp, and an open reading frame of 1926 bp, encoding a deduced protein of 642 amino acids with a molecular mass of 72. 475 kDa and an isoelectric point of 7.82. The genomic structure of the porcine SLC6A14 gene is similar to mammalian orthologs, particularly in terms of exon size and exon/intron boundaries. It comprises 14 exons and 13 introns. A semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that the porcine SLC6A14 mRNA expression was tissue-specific. Four SLC6A14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, and 3 informative SNPs were chosen for genotyping in a White Duroc &times; Erhualian resource population with phenotype data of growth and fatness traits. The association analysis showed that the c.1438 G>A nonsynonymous polymorphism was associated with birth weight and 21-day body weight (P < 0.05), while g.7944 A>T was associated with 46-day body weight. Linkage and radiation hybrid mapping assigned SLC6A14 to a region around SW1522 on SSCXp13, which did not fall in the confidence interval of the quantitative trait locus (QTL) for growth and fatness traits on SSCX in the resource population. These results indicate that SLC6A14 is not a positional candidate gene for the QTL affecting fatness and growth traits in pigs.