The improvement of meat quality traits is one of the most
important tasks in pork production. In this regard, the identification of gene polymorphisms that associate with meat quality parameters can provide useful markers for the selection of economically favorable traits.
The porcine genes PPARGC1A and CAPNS1 have emergedas biological,
functional and positional candidates for meat traits.PPARGC1A encodes for a transcription coactivator that regulates a whole range of nuclear hormone receptors and other trans cription factors, affecting adipogenesis, adipocyte differentiation and mitochondrial biogenesis. PPARGC1A has a crucialrole in energy metabolism and a daptive therm ogenesis and it is highly expressed in tissue with high energy demand, as skeletal muscle, brown adipose tissue, kidney and liver. In skeletal muscle, PPARGC1A is