Association Analysis of ARHGEF37 Gene Polymorphisms with Growth Traits in Pigs

Growth traits are key economic indicators in pig breeding, and identifying molecular markers associated with body weight, backfat thickness, loin eye depth, body length, chest girth, and chest width is of great importance for improving the efficiency of marker-assisted selection (MAS). In this study, 400 French Large White sows and 40 French Landrace sows were used as experimental populations. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the ARHGEF37 gene were genotyped using PCR amplification and sequencing. Genotype frequencies, allele frequencies, and genetic diversity parameters were systematically analyzed, and associations between different genotypes, haplotypes, and growth traits were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Several variants showed nominal associations with growth traits in the French Large White population, although none remained significant after FDR correction; ARHGEF37 is therefore proposed as a candidate gene requiring validation in larger populations. Additionally, haplotype analysis revealed that certain haplotype combinations exhibited synergistic improvements in economically important traits including body weight, backfat thickness, and chest circumference, providing potential genetic targets for marker-assisted selection.