In Italy more than 80% of pig production is destined to the traditional Italian dry cured ham market. Dry cured ham production requires fresh legs with at least 20 mm of fat coverage. For decades, Italian pigs were selected for fatness as hams constituted almost 60% of the commercial value of the animal. Lately, tight prices dropped and therefore Longissimus dorsi acquires economical importance for the pig industry. The aim of this research was to identify genes that might modulate fat repartition in order to have fat legs and lean L. dorsi. Estrogens are known to control the distribution of body fat mass in human and rodents. Therefore, we investigated the estrogen receptor PVUII polymorphism in 604 pigs (274 females, 330 castrated males) for which the following phenotypical data was collected: carcass weight, backfat thickness, leg weight, leg length and leg fat cover. Fatty acid profiles and IMF were recorded in the Bicipite femoris of 125 animals (62 females, 63 catrated males). Castrated males of the 11 genotype had significantly more backfat (P<0.05) and longer legs (P<0.05). No effect on the leg fat cover was observed. The bicipite femoris of castrated males of the 11 genotype has less IMF (P<0.05), lower concentrations of palmic and oleic acids (P<0.05). Our findings suggest that the ESR polymorphism is associated with fat distribution in pigs.
