| Collagen is one major component of extracellular matrix. Changes in the content and cross-links of intramuscular collagen (IMC) can affect the quality of meat such as tenderness and water-holding capacity. Type III collagen is one main type of IMC, which is encoded by Col3a1(collagen type III alpha 1 gene). In the presnet study, eighty-four castrated boars including Laiwu Black (LW) (weight of 30~90 kg, n=6) and Lulai Black (LL) (weight of 40~100 kg, n=6) were used to study the developmental changes of Col3a1 mRNA expression in muscle and their association with IMC. The muscle total RNA was extracted to determine the abundance of Col3a1 mRNA by semi-quantitative RT-PCR withβ-actin mRNA as internal standard. This study aims to explore internal factors and regulatory mechanism determining meat characteristics at molecular level, making contribution to the exploration and utilization of Laiwu swine and molecular marker-assisted breeding in superior pig production. The results are summarized as follows:1. The Col3a1 mRNA expression in muscle of LW and LL was affected significantly by body weight development and breed difference. The abundance of Col3a1 mRNA expression in different body weight groups differed significantly (P<0.01). The expression of Col3a1 mRNA increased with gaining of body weight, but decreased a little at 70 kg and 80 kg phases for LW and LL respectively. On the whole, the expression level of Col3a1 mRNA in muscle of LW was higher than that of LL(P<0.05).The Col3a1 mRNA abundance of LW was higher than that of LL in the same body weight group except for 70 kg phase. This indicated that the expression of Col3a1 at different stages of development is continuous, which is consistent with the growth and development of organism.2. The correlation analysis between Col3a1 mRNA abundance and IMC, body weight of the two breeds showed the abundance of Col3a1 mRNA expression in muscle was positively correlated with body weight at different...
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