Molecular characterization, tissue expression profile and SNP analysis of porcine GLP2R

Glucagon-like peptide-2 receptor (GLP2R), a member of the G-protein-coupled receptor family, plays an important role in intramuscular fat formation. Little is known, however, about porcine GLP2R. In the present study, GLP2R was cloned, and its expression in pig muscle characterized. By rapid amplification of cDNA ends, gene sequence was obtained from Shaziling pigs. Full-length cDNA was 1868 bp, including an open reading frame 1665 bp in length, encoding 554 amino acids, and 203 bp at the 3' end. The GLP2R homology between porcine and other species was performed using bioinformatics techniques to construct a phylogenetic tree. Porcine GLP2R was most closely related to those from Orcinus orca and Ovis aries, and most distantly related to those from Chrysemys picta, Taeniopygia guttata, and Falco peregrinus. Real-time PCR analysis showed expression of porcine GLP2R in 10 different tissues from 25-day-old Yorkshire and Shaziling piglets, with expression levels being highest in the longissimus dorsi muscle and lowest in kidney. For each pig breed, expression level in longissimus dorsi muscle was highest among ten tissues (P < 0.05). Between the two breeds, GLP2R expression levels were significant in pancreas, the crureus and longissimus dorsi muscles (P < 0.05). A single SNP of porcine GLP2R, A343G, was identified, and genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP. This study provides an insight into the function of GLP2R in swine.