• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1237-1241
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• 2005

Mannose-P-dolichol utilization defect 1 (MPDU1) gene is required for utilization of the mannose donor MPD in synthesis of both lipid-linked oligosaccharides (LLOs) and glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI) which are important for functions such as protein folding and membrane anchoring. The full length cDNA of the porcine MPDU1 was determined by in silico cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The deduced amino acid showed 91% identity to the corresponding human sequence with five predicted transmembrane regions. RT-PCR was performed to detect its expression pattern in five tissues and results showed that it is expressed ubiquitously among the tissues checked. A single nucleotide substitution resulting in the amino acid change (137 Tyr-137 His) was detected within exon 5. Allele frequencies in six pig breeds showed distinctive differences between those Chinese indigenous pigs breeds and European pigs. Using the pig/rodent somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP), we mapped the porcine MPDU1 gene to SSC12, which is consistent with the comparative mapping result as conservative syntenic groups presented between human chromosome 17 and pig chromosome 12.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.1903-1911
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• 2021

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and various litter trait trends of Danish pigs in South Vietnam, including the number born alive (NBA), number weaned (NW), and litter weight at the 21st day (LW21). Methods: Records of 936 Yorkshire sows with 3361 litters and 973 Landrace sows with 3161 litters were used to estimate the variance components, genetic parameters, and trends of NBA, NW, and LW21. The restricted maximum likelihood method was applied using VCE6 software to obtain the variance components and genetic parameters. Thereafter, the best linear unbiased prediction procedure with an animal model was applied using PEST software to estimate the breeding values of the studied traits. Results: The heritability estimates were low, ranging from 0.12 to 0.21 for NBA, 0.03 to 0.04 for NW, and from 0.11 to 0.13 for LW21. The genetic correlation between the NBA and NW was relatively strong in both breeds, at 0.77 and 0.60 for Yorkshire and Landrace, respectively. Similarly, the genetic correlation between the NW and LW21 was considerably stronger in Landrace pigs (0.71) than in Yorkshire pigs (0.48). The estimates of annual genetic progress were 0.0431, 0.0233, and 0.0461 for NBA, NW, and LW21 in Landrace pigs and 0434, 0.0202, and 0.0667 for NBA, NW, and LW21 in Yorkshire pigs, respectively. Conclusion: The positive genetic trends estimated for the additive genetic values of the selected traits indicated that the current breeding system has achieved favorable results.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.832-838
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• 2024

Objective: The use of molecular genetic methods in pig breeding can significantly increase the efficiency of breeding and breeding work. We applied the F_st (fixsacion index) method, the main focus of the work was on the search for common options related to the number of born piglets and the weight of born piglets, since today the urgent task is to prevent a decrease in the weight of piglets at birth while maintaining high fertility of sows. Methods: One approach is to scan the genome, followed by an assessment of Fst and identification of selectively selected regions. We chose Large White sows (n = 237) with the same conditions of keeping and feeding. The data were collected from the sows across three farrowing. For genotyping, we used GeneSeek GGP Porcine HD Genomic Profiler v1, which included 68,516 single nucleotide polymorphisms evenly distributed with an average spacing of 25 kb (Illumina Inc, San Diego, CA, USA). Results: Based on the results of the Fst analysis, 724 variants representing selection signals for the signs BALWT, BALWT1, NBA, and TNB (weight of piglets born alive, average weight of the 1st piglets born alive, total number born alive, total number born). At the same time, 18 common variants have been identified that are potential markers for both the number of piglets at birth and the weight of piglets at birth, which is extremely important for breeding work to improve reproductive characteristics in sows. Conclusion: Our work resulted in identification of variants associated with the reproductive characteristics of pigs. Moreover, we identified, variants which are potential markers for both the number of piglets at birth and the weight of piglets at birth, which is extremely important for breeding work to improve reproductive performance in sows.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.215-219
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to examine the reproductive characteristics of cloned miniature piglets produced from surrogate domestic pigs. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) miniature pig embryos were transferred into domestic pigs. As controls, domestic pigs of the same breed with surrogates for SCNT embryos and miniature pigs of the same breed with the somatic cell donor were bred by artificial insemination and natural mating, respectively. Surrogate domestic pigs that farrowed cloned miniature piglets had a significantly longer gestation length (118.1 days) than conventionally bred domestic (115.4 days) and miniature (115.5 days) pigs. Furthermore, the birth weight of cloned miniature piglets produced from domestic pigs (743 g) was significantly greater than that of miniature piglets produced by natural breeding (623 g). Also, cloned miniature piglets had a significantly lower weaning rate (49.7%) than conventionally produced domestic (91.5%) and miniature (100%) piglets. No differences were observed between female and male cloned piglets in gestation length, litter size, birth weight, or weaning rate. Our results demonstrate that gestation length is extended in domestic pigs that are transferred with SCNT miniature pig embryos and that cloned miniature piglets have increased birth weight and high pre-weaning mortality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.347-360
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• 1993

The project was undertaken to provide information on the present system of traditional pig farming in the South Pacific region, to identify the problems currently limiting productivity of such pigs and to offer practical strategies which could be used for increasing productivity of the animals. The problems were identified by surveying some 220 subsistence pig farms in eleven island countries in the South Pacific region using a prepared questionnaire. The units were found to be generally small, consisting of about 2-4 sows per herd. The productivity of the units as assessed in terms of sow reproductive efficiency was rather low, being only about 7.5. Feed, housing, breeding, disease, marketing, lack of capital, technical know-how and existing social traditions were identified as current constraints. Based on three of the most limiting factors identified namely feed, housing and breeding, strategies for improvement were developed on the basis of better and more effective use of locally available feed resources, better housing and genetic improvement through crossbreeding programmes. These improvement strategies were tested as a package model on some ten farms in two of the island countries. The results of these on-farm trials indicated that using the improvement strategies increased sow reproductive efficiency by approximately 60 percent, to nearly 12. The significance of these findings in the overall management of traditionally raised pigs in the South Pacific region is discussed.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1478-1484
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• 2007

To determine the origin and genetic diversity of Red Chittagong (RC) cattle in Bangladesh, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA displacement loop (D-loop) sequences of 48 samples along with 22 previously published sequences from Bos indicus and Bos taurus breeds. Twenty five haplotypes were identified in RC cattle that were defined by 44 polymorphic sites and nucleotide diversity was $0.0055{\pm}0.0026$. The estimated sequence divergence times between RC and other zebu cattle breeds studied ranged between 22,700-26,900 years before present (YBP) which, it is suggested, predate domestication of RC cattle. Furthermore, it is assumed that introgressions have occurred in this breed mainly from Indian zebu breeds in the recent millennia. The phylogenetic studies showed RC cattle clustered with Bos indicus lineage with two distinct haplogroups representing high genetic variability of this breed. These findings can be used for designing proper breeding and conservation strategies for RC cattle in Bangladesh.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.1678-1683
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• 2014

This study considers a problem of genomic selection (GS) for adjacent genetic markers of Yorkshire pigs which are typically correlated. The GS has been widely used to efficiently estimate target variables such as molecular breeding values using markers across the entire genome. Recently, GS has been applied to animals as well as plants, especially to pigs. For efficient selection of variables with specific traits in pig breeding, it is required that any such variable selection retains some properties: i) it produces a simple model by identifying insignificant variables; ii) it improves the accuracy of the prediction of future data; and iii) it is feasible to handle high-dimensional data in which the number of variables is larger than the number of observations. In this paper, we applied several variable selection methods including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), fused LASSO and elastic net to data with 47K single nucleotide polymorphisms and litter size for 519 observed sows. Based on experiments, we observed that the fused LASSO outperforms other approaches.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1304-1308
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• 2009

To investigate the infection patterns of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in Korean pig farms, a total of 4,768 swine sera samples from 159 pig farms were taken twice, in June (n=82) and October (n=77) in 2007. In each farm selected for the survey, 10 samples from breeding pigs and 4 from each of the 5 age groups (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days) were taken, and all serum samples were tested for PEDV by the serum neutralization test. The overall seroprevalence was 62.6% (2,983/4,768), with the highest prevalence in breeding pigs (93.5%, 1,485/1,589). The prevalence showed an increasing trend with increasing age (30.8, 27.2, 44.7, 61.6, and 71.2% respectively in the 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days age groups) (p<0.0001 for $x^2$ trend test). The association between age and PEDV prevalence was similar in both surveys, indicating that the infection of PEDV seemed to be occurring repeatedly in the farms surveyed. This inference could also be explained by the fact that prevalence in sows was very high despite low vaccination coverage, as they are continuously exposed to PEDV in potentially infected farms for a longer period. Based on the neutralizing antibody levels in sows and growing pigs, the majority of farms (91.8%, n=146 farms) were endemically infected with PEDV, and most of pigs seemed to be intensively infected with PEDV at around early growth (41.8%) and weaning (31.5%). On the other hand, serum neutralizing antibodies were not detected in pigs older than 30 days of age in farms classified as having no PEDV infection (n=13 farms), indicating the level of maternal antibody against PEDV is decreased on a non-detectable level before the piglet is 60 days old in the field situation. The results indicated that most farms surveyed in 2007 were affected with endemic PEDV infection. Therefore, a national monitoring and control program for the endemic type PEDV infection needs further attention.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.1491-1500
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• 2019

Objective: European pigs have been imported to improve the economically important traits of Thai pigs by crossbreeding and was finally completely replaced. Currently Thai indigenous pigs are particularly kept in a small population. Therefore, indigenous pigs risk losing their genetic diversity and identity. Thus, this study was conducted to perform large-scale genetic diversity and phylogenetic analyses on the many pig breeds available in Thailand. Methods: Genetic diversity and phylogenetics analyses of 222 pigs belonging to Thai native pigs (TNP), Thai wild boars (TWB), European commercial pigs, commercial crossbred pigs, and Chinese indigenous pigs were investigated by genotyping using 26 microsatellite markers. Results: The results showed that Thai pig populations had a high genetic diversity with mean total and effective ($N_e$) number of alleles of 14.59 and 3.71, respectively, and expected heterozygosity ($H_e$) across loci (0.710). The polymorphic information content per locus ranged between 0.651 and 0.914 leading to an average value above all loci of 0.789, and private alleles were found in six populations. The higher $H_e$ compared to observed heterozygosity ($H_o$) in TNP, TWB, and the commercial pigs indicated some inbreeding within a population. The Nei's genetic distance, mean $F_{ST}$ estimates, neighbour-joining tree of populations and individual, as well as multidimensional analysis indicated close genetic relationship between Thai indigenous pigs and some Chinese pigs, and they are distinctly different from European pigs. Conclusion: Our study reveals a close genetic relationship between TNP and Chinese pigs. The genetic introgression from European breeds is found in some TNP populations, and signs of genetic erosion are shown. Private alleles found in this study should be taken into consideration for the breeding program. The genetic information from this study will be a benefit for both conservation and utilization of Thai pig genetic resources.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.462-469
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify genomic regions or genes controlling growth traits in pigs. Methods: Using a panel of 54,148 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we performed a genome-wide Association (GWA) study in 562 pure Yorshire pigs with four growth traits: average daily gain from 30 kg to 100 kg or 115 kg, and days to 100 kg or 115 kg. Fixed and random model Circulating Probability Unification method was used to identify the associations between 54,148 SNPs and these four traits. SNP annotations were performed through the Sus scrofa data set from Ensembl. Bioinformatics analysis, including gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis and network analysis, was used to identify the candidate genes. Results: We detected 6 significant and 12 suggestive SNPs, and identified 9 candidate genes in close proximity to them (suppressor of glucose by autophagy [SOGA1], R-Spondin 2 [RSPO2], mitogen activated protein kinase kinase 6 [MAP2K6], phospholipase C beta 1 [PLCB1], rho GTPASE activating protein 24 [ARHGAP24], cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 4 [CPEB4], GLI family zinc finger 2 [GLI2], neuronal tyrosine-phosphorylated phosphoinositide-3-kinase adaptor 2 [NYAP2], and zinc finger protein multitype 2 [ZFPM2]). Gene ontology analysis and literature mining indicated that the candidate genes are involved in bone, muscle, fat, and lung development. Pathway analysis revealed that PLCB1 and MAP2K6 participate in the gonadotropin signaling pathway and suggests that these two genes contribute to growth at the onset of puberty. Conclusion: Our results provide new clues for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying growth traits, and may help improve these traits in future breeding programs.