• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2014

The pedigree data of 86,639 heads from six major swine breeding farms were investigated to check levels of inbreeding and effective population size of breeding stocks. The average rate of inbreeding was 1.04%, 0.87%, 3.17%, 1.05%, 3.23% and 3.33% for farms A, B, C, D, E and F, respectively. The average inbreeding rate was highest for F farm and lowest for B farm. In farms D and E, there were quite large numbers of immigrant animals per generation compared to other farms. The effective population sizes calculated from the average rate of inbreeding were distributed between 83.0 and 814.8. Specific values were 282.3, 225.5, 83.0, 814.8, 302.9 and 175.7 for farms A, B, C, D, E and F, respectively. The results showed that there was no cause for concern over the current inbreeding level of major swine breeding farm populations and the inbreeding level was within an acceptable range. In addition, internal sharing rather than importing pig is necessary to strengthen seed sovereignty.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.453-460
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• 2007

An overview of developments important in the future of animal breeding is discussed. Examples from the application of quantitative genetic principles to selection in chickens and mice are given. Lessons to be learned from these species are that selection for production traits in livestock must also consider selection for reproduction and other fitness-related traits and inbreeding should be minimized. Short-term selection benefits of best linear unbiased predictor methodology must be weighed against long-term risks of increased rate of inbreeding. Different options have been developed to minimize inbreeding rates while maximizing selection response. Development of molecular genetic methods to search for quantitative trait loci provides the opportunity for incorporating marker-assisted selection and introgression as new tools for increasing efficiency of genetic improvement. Theoretical and computer simulation studies indicate that these methods hold great promise once genotyping costs are reduced to make the technology economically feasible. Cloning and transgenesis are not likely to contribute significantly to genetic improvement of livestock production in the near future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2015

The complex analysis of the pedigree records of Czech Landrace (CLA), Czech Large White-dam line (CLWd), Czech Large White-sire line (CLWs), Duroc (DC), and Pietrain (PN) was performed to determine trends of genetic diversity (GD), and to find the main sources of the GD loss. The total size of the pedigree was 132,365, 391,151, 32,913, 13,299, and 7,160 animals in CLA, CLWd, CLWs, DC, and PN, respectively. Animals born in the years 2011 through 2013 were assumed as the reference population. The average pedigree completeness index for one generation back was 95.9%, 97.4%, 91.2%, 89.8%, and 94.2% for appropriate breeds. Number of ancestors explaining 100% of gene pool was 186, 373, 125, 157, and 37 in CLA, CLWd, CLWs, DC, and PN, respectively. The relative proportion of inbred animals (58%, 58%, 54%, 47%, and 25%), the average inbreeding (2.7%, 1.4%, 2.5%, 3.6%, and 1.3%) and the average co-ancestry (3.1%, 1.6%, 3.3%, 4.2%, and 3.3%) were found over the past decade in analysed breeds. The expected inbreeding under random mating increased during the last 10 years in CLWs and PN and varied from 1.27% to 3.2%. The effective population size computed on the basis of inbreeding was 76, 74, 50, 35, and 83 in 2012 in CLA, CLWd, CLWs, DC, and PN, respectively. The shortest generation interval (1.45) was observed for CLWd in sire to son selection pathway. The longest generation interval obtained PN (1.95) in sire to daughter pathway. The average relative GD loss within last generation interval was 7.05%, 4.70%, 9.81%, 7.47%, and 10.46%, respectively. The relative proportion of GD loss due to genetic drift on total GD loss was 85.04%, 84.51%, 89.46%, 86.19%, and 83.68% in CLA, CLWd, CLWs, DC, and PN, respectively. All breeds were characterized by a high proportion of inbred animals, but the average inbreeding was low. The most vulnerable breeds to loss of GD are DC and PN. Therefore, a breeding program should be more oriented to prevent the increase of GD loss in these breeds.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.451-457
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• 2010

The porcine MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex), encoding the SLA (Swine Leukocyte Antigen) genes, is one of the most significant regions associated with immune rejection in relation to transplantation. In this study, three SLA class I (SLA-1, SLA-3, SLA-2) loci and three SLA class II (DRB1, DQB1, DQA) loci were investigated in the previously unidentified Korean native pig (KNP) population that was closely inbred in the Livestock Technology Research Station in Cheongyang, Korea. Total thirteen KNPs from four generations were genotyped for the SLA alleles and haplotypes were investigated using PCR-SSP (Sequence-Specific Primer) method. The results showed that all of these KNPs had Lr-56.30/56.30 homozygous haplotype, indicating high level of inbreeding in the SLA genes. The inbreeding status of these animals was also investigated using microsatellite (MS) markers. From the 50 MS markers investigated, 17 MS markers were fixed in all generations and the fixed alleles are increased as 26 loci for the fourth generation. Two MS markers, S0069 and SW173, were heterozygous for all the animals tested. Observed and expected heterozygosities were calculated and the average inbreeding coefficients for each generation were also calculated. In the fourth generation, the average inbreeding coefficients was 0.732 and this may increase with further inbreeding process. Analysis of the SLA haplotypes and MS alleles can give important information for breeding the pigs for xenotransplantation studies.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.1895-1902
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• 2021

Objective: Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are contiguous lengths of homozygous genotypes that can reveal inbreeding levels, selection pressure, and mating schemes. In this study, ROHs were evaluated in Wannan Black pigs to assess the inbreeding levels and the genome regions with high ROH frequency. Methods: In a previous study, we obtained 501.52 GB of raw data from resequencing (10×) of the genome and identified 21,316,754 single-nucleotide variants in 20 Wannan Black pig samples. We investigated the number, length, and frequency of ROH using resequencing data to characterize the homozygosity in Wannan Black pigs and identified genomic regions with high ROH frequencies. Results: In this work, 1,813 ROHs (837 ROHs in 100 to 500 kb, 449 ROHs in 500 to 1,000 kb, 527 ROHs in >1,000 kb) were identified in all samples, and the average genomic inbreeding coefficient (F_ROH) in Wannan Black pigs was 0.5234. Sixty-one regions on chromosomes 2, 3, 7, 8, 13, 15, and 16 harbored ROH islands. In total, 105 genes were identified in 42 ROH islands, among which some genes were related to production traits. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify ROH across the genome of Wannan Black pigs, the Chinese native breed of the Anhui province. Overall, Wannan Black pigs have high levels of inbreeding due to the influence of ancient and recent inbreeding due to the genome. These findings are a reliable resource for future studies and contribute to save and use the germplasm resources of Wannan Black pigs.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.975-984
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• 2021

Objective: Inbreeding depression of reproduction is a major concern in the conservation of native chicken genetic resources. Here, based on the successful development of strongly inbred (Sinb) and weakly inbred (Winb) Langshan chickens, we aimed to evaluate inbreeding effects on reproductive traits and identify candidate genes involved in inbreeding depression of reproduction in Langshan chickens. Methods: A two-sample t-test was performed to estimate the differences in phenotypic values of reproductive traits between Sinb and Winb chicken groups. Three healthy chickens with reproductive trait values around the group mean values were selected from each of the groups. Differences in ovarian and hypothalamus transcriptomes between the two groups of chickens were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results: The Sinb chicken group showed an obvious inbreeding depression in reproduction, especially for traits of age at the first egg and egg number at 300 days (p<0.01). Furthermore, 68 and 618 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the hypothalamus and ovary between the two chicken groups, respectively. In the hypothalamus, DEGs were mainly enriched in the pathways related to vitamin metabolism, signal transduction and development of the reproductive system, such as the riboflavin metabolism, Wnt signaling pathway, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways, including stimulated by retinoic acid 6, serpin family F member 1, secreted frizzled related protein 2, Wnt family member 6, and frizzled class receptor 4 genes. In the ovary, DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with basic metabolism, including amino acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycosaminoglycan degradation. A series of key DEGs involved in folate biosynthesis (gamma-glutamyl hydrolase, guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1), oocyte meiosis and ovarian function (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1, structural maintenance of chromosomes 1B, and speedy/RINGO cell cycle regulator family member A), spermatogenesis and male fertility (prostaglandin D2 synthase 21 kDa), Mov10 RISC complex RNA helicase like 1, and deuterosome assembly protein 1) were identified, and these may play important roles in inbreeding depression in reproduction. Conclusion: The results improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression in chicken reproduction and provide a theoretical basis for the conservation of species resources.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.83-92
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to estimate the inbreeding level and effective population size of Korean indigenous chickens. In the study, two variables were considered to evaluate the pedigree completeness: (1) the proportion (%) of animals with complete pedigree, and (2) the proportion of animals with inbreeding coefficients greater than zero. In the proportion of animals having complete pedigree, all strains reached almost 100% completeness in 1~2 years. In the proportion of animals with inbreeding coefficients greater than zero, all strains reached almost 100% completeness in 5~6 years. We considered that the pedigree recoding system is well managed and that the inbreeding coefficient is a reliable measure. Over the past 20 years, the increase of inbreeding coefficients in Korean indigenous chicken strains has been 7.6~10.9%. The S strain showed the most rapid increase of inbreeding coefficient of 8.2% in 10 years. The reason for this rapid increase is considered to be associated with the fact that the numbers of sires and dams involved in reproduction was 115 and 91, respectively, which are lower than those of the other strains. According to average rates of increase in inbreeding coefficients (${\Delta}F$), all strains have ${\Delta}F$ values of 0.39~0.85%, which is lower than 1%, and the effective population size is above 50. The results showed that inbreeding levels were within the acceptable range and that Korean indigenous chicken population scan be regarded as safe from the threat of extinction.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.297-302
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• 2011

This study was carried out to estimate average inbreeding coefficients, relatedness and effective population size of breeding bulls and to suggest optimal alternatives on problems of current Hanwoo improvement system. Data on proven and young bulls were obtained from 1,128 heads of Livestock Improvement Main Center from 1983 to 2008. Pedigree information on proven and young bulls was obtained from 3,760 heads of Korea Animal Improvement Association. Average inbreeding coefficients and average relatedness of proven and young bulls were estimated at the range of 0.04-0.07%, 0.10-6.82%, respectively. Effective population size was estimated for 220 heads from the average rate of inbreeding of last 26 years. Average inbreeding coefficient is rising rapidly for the last two years as well as average relatedness. Effective population size was estimated for 47 heads for the last five years. These results suggest that selection criteria of proven bulls should include not only genetic evaluation of carcass performance from progeny-test, but also inbreeding and relationship coefficients, in order to maintain genetic variability of Hanwoo. In addition, effective population size should be increased by increasing the number of proven bulls.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.777-789
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• 2020

Intense artificial selection has been imposed to Luzhong mutton sheep population in the past years. Improvements on growth and reproductive performance are two breeding goals in the present herd. Although some progresses were phenotypically observed possibly due to inbreeding induced by strong selection in terms of these traits, the genomic evaluation was poorly understood. Therefore, a high-density SNP array was used to characterize the pattern of runs of homozygosity (ROH), estimate inbreeding and inbreeding depressions on early growth performance and litter size based upon ROH, and scan positive selection signatures of recent population. Consequently, a low inbreeding level was observed which had negative effects on litter size, but not on early growth performance. And 160 genes were under selection, of which some were reported to be linked to several traits of sheep including body weight, litter size, carcass and meat quality, milk yield and composition, fiber quality and health, and the top genes were associated with growth (growth hormone [GH]- growth hormone receptor [GHR]- Insulin-like growth factor 1 [IGF1] axis) and litter size (bone morphogenic proteins [BMPs]-associated). The effectiveness of previous breeding measures was highlighted, but purging selection was proposed to alleviate the inbreeding depression on litter size, providing some genomic insights to breeding management of Luzhong mutton sheep.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.767-771
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• 2002

Breeding efficiencies were compared among three population schemes: a single population, a population with two subpopulations and a population with three sub-populations. A simulation experiment of selection was carried out for 10 generations with 20 replications each by comparing average breeding values and inbreeding coefficients among the three population schemes. Phenotypes of three traits were generated with a model comprising 36 loci, each with additive genetic effects and residuals distributed normally. Among the three population schemes, the single population scheme was definitely superior to the other two with regards to selection response and inbreeding. The multiple sub-population scheme was, however, considered to be an alternative population scheme when the difference in economic weights of the traits was small among the sub-populations, assuming moderate inbreeding depression for traits and crossbreeding. The scheme with two sub-populations had a higher genetic value than that with three subpopulations; however, the genetic values of the schemes were comparable when maternal heterosis was taken into account. The choice of population schemes may depend on the cost-sharing policy between the breeding population and the commercial population rather than just the breeding efficiency.