Genetic Analyses of Carcass Characteristics in Crossbred Pigs: Cross between Landrace Sows and Korean Wild Boars

Carcass characteristics of 241 crossbred pigs (Korean wild boars ${\times}$ Landrace sows) were analyzed to examine variations in fasted body weight (FASTWT), carcass weight (CARCWT), dressing percentage (DP), back fat thickness (BFT) and longissimus muscle weight (LMW), and to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters using three different slaughter-end points. Covariates in the least squares full sib model were slaughter age, fasted body weight and back fat thickness of the carcass. Coefficient of variation was highest for BFT followed by LMW, CARCWT, FASTWT and DP in magnitude. Regressions of three covariates on traits were all linear. However, slaughter age was not significant as a linear covariate for five traits while FASTWT was significant for CARCWT and LMW and BFT was significant for all remaining traits. Genetic and phenotypic variation was considerably reduced by regressing FASTWT or BFT in the model. Heritability estimates of FASTWT, CARCWT, DP and BFT were 0.68, 0.61, 0.11 and 0.49, respectively, using slaughter age as covariate (model 1). Those of CARCWT, DP, BFT and LMW were 0.15, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.11, respectively, using FASTWT as covariate (model 2). Heritability estimates of the traits using LMW as covariate (model 3) were similar to the estimates from Model 1 except that the estimate of CARCWT was reduced to 0.39. Genetic or phenotypic correlations among FASTWT, CARCWT and BFT were all positive and moderate to high. Those between BFT and LMW were also positive and low to moderate. However, genetic and phenotypic correlations between DP and CARCWT were positive while those between DP and FASTWT were negative. It was suggested from this study that differences in carcass yield traits be determined using slaughter age or back fat thickness as slaughter-end point and carcass quality traits using fasted body weight as slaughter-end point.