Analysis of spread of endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) of subtypes A and C in genomes of pigs of Ukrainian breeds and their correlation with fat deposition in carcasses

Tetiana Mikolaivna Ryk

Abstract: The article presents the results of the analysis of the frequency of PERV retroviruses of subtypes
A and C in populations of pigs of Ukrainian and foreign breeds.
Analysis of the genome of retroviruses (PERV) subtypes A and C in animals of the studied breeds
revealed their different frequency. Animals without both subtypes of the virus were present in all
study groups. The highest relative numbers were observed in the group of wild pigs (86%), the lowest
– in the groups of Poltava meat and Pietren breeds.
The hypothesis of an increase in the level of fat deposition in pigs with retrovirus (PERV) during
domestication of pigs was investigated. Integration of the virus caused a mutation in the genes responsible
for adipopexis, which led to an increase in fat in the carcass and can be isolated by selection
during breeding.
However, we did not find a clear correlation in pigs of different productivity between the level of
fat deposition in pig carcasses and the presence of PERV-A and PERV-B in their genome of modern
breeds of different productivity.
The distribution of PERV of two subtypes in pigs of Ukrainian breeds determined in the study
provides information on the possibility and expediency of using each of them for xenotransplantation. On
the other hand, this information can be the basis for the selection of founding breeds to create pig lines
free from the endogenous retroviral genome.

Keywords: fat in carcasses; genome; pigs of Ukrainian breeds; porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERVs)

Date published: 2021-12-22