Abstract:Calpastatin (CAST) was considered to be a candidate gene for meat quality traits. Two substitutions (A916G and C1633G) in intron 24 of porcine CAST gene were genotyped on a total of 270 animals, including 190 from four Chinese and 80 from two Western pig lines. At 916 site, allele B was the dominant gene in Laiwu Black, Dapuliang,Yimeng and the Licha Black pigs having frequencies of 0.93, 0.97, 0.78 and 0.68, respectively and allele A was the dominant gene in the Landrace and the Large White having frequencies of 0.88 and 1.00, respectively; At 1633 site, allele C was the dominant gene in the Landrace and the Large White having frequencies of 0.82 and 0.79, respectively and allele D was the dominant gene in the Laiwu,the Dapuliang,the Yimeng and the Licha Black pigs having frequencies of 1.00, 1.00, 0.88 and 0.78, respectively. Six haplotypes(AACC,AACD,AADD,ABCC,BBCC,BBDD)were examined in the tested pig breeds. The results show that: Firstly, the Landrace and the Large White breeds differed significantly(P < 0.01)in haplotype distribution from the Laiwu,the Dapuliang,the Yimeng and the Licha Black breeds; Secondly, association analyses between haplotypes and meat quality traits demonstrated that CAST haplotype was significantly associated with higher tenderness, higher pH at postmortem 45 min, and lower drip loss(P < 0.05); Thirdly, using least square analysis, it was seen that significant differences(P < 0.05)were found in the tenderness, the pH of postmortem 45 min and the drip loss between the exotic pig breeds (the Landrace and the Large White) and the native pig breeds(the Laiwu,the Dapuliang,the Yimeng and the Licha Black). Individuals of the BBDD haplotype had significantly higher (P < 0.05) tenderness and lower drip loss than those of the other haplotypes, and the pigs of the AADD,BBCC,and BBDD haplotypes had significantly lower (P < 0.05) pH of postmortem 45 min than those of the other haplotypes. The CAST gene can be used in marker-assisted selection to provide significant improvements for meat quality and to accelerate the breeding progress.