A study on searching for candidate genes associated with pH concentration in Hanwoo meat using GWAS(genome-wide association study) and functional analysis

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the genomic information significantly associated with the pH concentration of Hanwoo meat and to perform functional interpretation of the candidate genes. pH concentrations were measured from 135 samples of Hanwoo, and SNP information was generated using the Hanwoo GeneChip v1. The phenotype of pH concentration and SNP information were used in GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study). A total of 44 significant SNPs were detected in the analysis (p-value < 0.001). Chromosome 29 had the highest number of significant SNPs (6 SNPs), Chromosome 7 with the second-highest number (5 SNPs). Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis using DAVID identified 3 significant GO terms in Biological Process and 1 in Cellular Component. Additionally, a total of 2 pathways were identified through KEGG analysis. The significant candidate genes were found to be closely associated with the regulation of phosphorylase enzymes or mitochondrial energy production functions. These research findings are expected to be useful data for future development of digital breeding technologies.