Identification of candidate genes for congenital splay leg in piglets - first results

Congenital splay leg is a hereditary disorder affecting approximately 0.2% of newborn piglets. Despite of several investigations on morphology and phy siology of the affected skeletal muscle the etiology of the disease is stil l unknown. We attempt to identify potential candidate genes for the disorde r by means of the Differential Display/Reverse Transcriptase PCR (DD/RT PCR ) approach. Total RNA was isolated from M. biceps femoris of affected and h ealthy piglets. A cDNA library was constructed and differentially expressed fragments were analyzed. Among more than twenty isolated fragments four ge nes will be further investigated as potential candidates for congenital spl ay leg syndrome.