Association of polymorphisms of Nramp1 gene with immune function and production performance of Large White pig

The present research was designed to study the association of polymorphism of natural resistance-associated macrophage protein1 (Nramp1) with some immune function and the production performance in Large White pig. The PCR-RFLP technique was applied to analyze the correlation between the polymorphisms of Nramp1 gene and immune function [value of Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes (PMN) obtained by Nitroblue Tetrazolium (NBT) Reduction and effect of Cytotoxin in Monocyte] and production performance in 165 Large White pigs. The results showed that there was one Nde I restriction locus in Large White pig, and both values of PMN by NBT Reduction and effect of Cytotoxin in Monocyte in genotype BB were higher than those in genotype AB (P<0.05). Simultaneously, the weight of 180-day-old pigs with genotype BB was higher than that with genotype AB (P<0.05). The results indicated that there was a significant correlation between different genotypes of Nramp1 gene and immune function and production performance, and it can be regarded as a candidate gene of disease resistance. All these results provide valuable reference to further studies of pig disease resistance.