Protein Function and Tissue Expression Analysis of ABCG8 Gene in Erhualian Pig

ABC transporter protein 8 (ABCG8) gene is related to the resistance of livestock. In order to explore the function of the protein encoded by PIG ABCG8 and its expression in various tissues, the ABCG8 gene of Erhualian pig was cloned by PCR technology, and the structure and function of ABCG8 protein were analyzed by using the online bioinformatics method. Meanwhile, the qRT-PCR technology was used to detect the differential expression of its tissue. The results showed that the molecular formula of this protein was C3638H5712N982O1027S35, encoding 730 amino acids, with the molecular weight of 80 761.43 kD, pI value of 8.73, and GRAVY value of 0.071, which belonged to the hydrophobic protein. There were 109 potential N-phosphorylation sites and 6 O-glycosylation sites, and no signal peptide sequence in the protein. The secondary structure of the protein was mainly composed of α helix (43.01%), β-rotation (6.16%), extended chain (14.52%) and random coil (36.30%), which was mainly located in the cell membrane and endoplasmic reticulum. It was a multi-transmembrane protein located on the cell membrane, and may interacted with the proteins such as ABCG5, NPC1L1, CYP7A1, NR1H3, SCARB1, SREBF2, APOA1, NR1H2, SQLE, and NR1H4, etc. In addition, the expression profile analysis of ABCG8 gene in various tissues of Erhualian pig showed that the expression level of ABCG8 was the highest in the liver tissue, followed by the small intestine, but almost no expression in other tissues. The results laid the foundation for the further research on the mechanism of ABCG8 gene in the performance control of pig growth and meat quality.