Genetic associations and selected signatures of short gestation length in Qingping pigs

We analyzed the transcriptome of 12 Qingping sows with short gestation length (three former gestation length average 114 d) as follows: (1) short gestation length sows pregnant at 109 days gestation age (PRE109Q: n =3, including Q7, Q8 and Q9); (2) short gestation length sows with parturition at 111 days gestation age (PAR111Q: n =3, including Q1, Q3 and Q5); (3) normal gestation length sows pregnant at 111 days gestation age (PRE111Q: n =3, including Q10, Q11 and Q12); and (4) normal gestation length sows with parturition at 114 days gestation age (PAR114Q: n =3, including Q2, Q4 and Q6). The amnion, chorion and decidua tissues from PRE109Q and PRE111Q were dissected and collected immediately after slaughter. Total RNA was isolated using TRIzol and Illumina libraries were constructed. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform (Illumina) using paired-end approach with 150-bp reads. RNA-seq of PAR111Q and PAR114Q was performed on an Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform (Illumina) using paired-end approach with 100-bp reads in our former study.