Cloning and analysis of swine PIT-1 gene: Use as a molecular marker in breeding studies

Abstract

The overall purpose of my studies is to characterize the swine PIT-1 gene for use as a molecular marker in the prediction of economic traits in pigs. The specific objectives are: 1) Analyze PIT-1 gene expression by using a previously characterized PIT-1 POU-domain cDNA (Tuggle et al., 1993) and Northern hybridization to characterize the expression of the PIT-1 gene in specific tissues; 2) Use the PIT-1 POU-domain cDNA as a probe for RFLP analyses in population studies and Meishan x Duroc, Meishan x Hampshire, Meishan x Landrace, Minzhu x Hampshire and Minzhu x Landrace ISU reference families; 3) Use the PIT-1 genomic DNA fragment (6 kb), previously obtained by screening a porcine genomic library (Yu et al., 1993b), for RFLP analyses in population studies and with the ISU reference families and 4) Analyze the association between PIT-1 molecular markers and economically important traits in the reference families.