• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1394-1398
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• 2014

Indigenous (native) breeds of livestock have higher disease resistance and adaptation to the environment due to high genetic diversity. Even though their extinction rate is accelerated due to the increase of commercial breeds, natural disaster, and civil war, there is a lack of well-established databases for the native breeds. Thus, we constructed the native pig and chicken breed database (NPCDB) which integrates available information on the breeds from around the world. It is a nonprofit public database aimed to provide information on the genetic resources of indigenous pig and chicken breeds for their conservation. The NPCDB (http://npcdb.snu.ac.kr/) provides the phenotypic information and population size of each breed as well as its specific habitat. In addition, it provides information on the distribution of genetic resources across the country. The database will contribute to understanding of the breed's characteristics such as disease resistance and adaptation to environmental changes as well as the conservation of indigenous genetic resources.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2008

Several studies have reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) for meat quality on porcine chromosome 2 (http://www.animalgenome.org/QTLdb/pig.html). For application of the molecular genetic information to the pig industry through marker-assisted selection, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were analyzed by comparative re-sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of 13 candidate genes with DNA from commercial pig breeds such as Berkshire, Yorkshire, Landrace, Duroc and Korean Native pig. A total of 34 SNPs were identified in 15 PCR products producing an average of one SNP in every 253 bp. PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays were developed for 11 SNPs and used to investigate allele frequencies in five commercial pig breeds in Korea. Eight of the SNPs appear to be fixed in at least one of the five pig breeds, which indicates that different selection among pig breeds might be applied to these SNPs. Polymorphisms detected in the PTH, CSF2 and FOLR genes were chosen to genotype a Berkshire-Yorkshire pig breed reference family for linkage and association analyses. Using linkage analysis, PTH and CSF2 loci were mapped to pig chromosome 2, while FOLR was mapped to pig chromosome 9. Association analyses between SNPs in the PTH, CSF2 and FOLR suggested that the CSF2 MboII polymorphism was significantly associated with several pork quality traits in the Berkshire and Yorkshire crossed F2 pigs. Our current findings provide useful SNP marker information to fine map QTL regions on pig chromosome 2 and to clarify the relevance of SNP and quantitative traits in commercial pig populations.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2013

This study was conducted to investigate the expression of harmful social behaviours in breeding pigs. Totally 64 pure breed pigs were assigned to determine the effect of breed (Yorkshire and Duroc) and sex (male and female) on the expression of each harmful social behaviours at the GGP level commercial breeding farm. Sucking, bothering, fighting and pushing behaviour were selected the notable harmful social behaviour. The most prevailing and the highest proportion of time spent in harmful social behaviours were bothering and sucking, respectively. Total frequency of bothering and fighting were more in Duroc than Yorkshire. Yorkshire had more proportion of time spent in sucking whereas fighting was more in Duroc. According to sex, female pigs had more frequency of sucking and pushing whereas fighting was significantly more in male pigs. The female pigs showed more time spent in sucking whereas bothering and fighting was more in male pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1357-1363
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• 2012

Pigs may need to be exploited as xenotransplantation donors due to the shortage of human organs, tissues and cells. Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are a significant obstacle to xenotransplantation because they can infect human cells in vitro and have the potential for transmission of unexpected pathogens to humans. In this research, 101 pigs, including four commercial breeds (23 Berkshire, 13 Duroc, 22 Landrace and 14 Yorkshire pigs), one native breed (19 Korean native pigs) and one miniature breed (10 NIH miniature pigs) were used to investigate insertional variations for 11 PERV loci (three PERV-A, six PERV-B and two PERV-C). Over 60% of the pigs harbored one PERV-A (907F8) integration and five PERV-B (B3-3G, B3-7G, 742H1, 1155D9 and 465D1) integrations. However, two PERV-A loci (A1-6C and 1347C1) and one PERV-B locus (B3-7F) were absent in Duroc pigs. Moreover, two PERV-C loci (C2-6C and C4-2G) only existed in Korean native pigs and NIH miniature pigs. The results suggest that PERV insertional variations differ among pig breeds as well as among individuals within a breed. Also, the results presented here can be used for the selection of animals that do not have specific PERV integration for xenotransplantation research.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.841-846
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• 2003

Landrace(L), Largewhite(Lw), Korean Native Pig(KNP) and commercial hybrid were experimented to determine holothane sensitivity, RYR gene mutation and quality profiles. In the results of halothane test, the incidence of halothane positive pigs was similar between L and Lw. But, the rate of dubious halothane positive type was higher in L than Lw. In hal-gene analysis, halothane-positive pigs(nn) were not found in any tested breed and heterotype(Nn) appeared only in one pig of L. Of the breed effect on the quality profiles, there were no differences in pH$_1$(pH at 1hr postslaughter), but pH$_{u}$(pH at 24hr postslaughter) was significantly higher in commercial hybrid and KNP than other breeds(p〈0.05). Color assessed by National Pork Producers Council(NPPC) and CIE L$^{*}$ was significantly paler in L breed than other breeds(p〈0.05). Significant differences were found in water holding capacity(WHC) and cooking loss in KNP(p〈0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.6-9
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of lower numbers of sperm $(3{\times}10^9)$ per dose liquid semen and type of semen used in artificial insemination (AI) on sow reproductive performance in subtropical area. Semen was supplied by two commercial AI centers. A total of 671 female pigs from seven farms were inseminated with either $3{\times}10^9$ or $5{\times}10^9$ sperm per dose. Two types of semen were used: heterospermic semen from two boars of the same breed and homospermic semen from a single boar. After insemination, conception rate, farrowing rate, total litter size, and number of dead piglets were recorded. The analysis of variance indicated that there was no significant effect of interactions between pig farm, type of semen, or number of sperm on any of the traits measured. There were significant differences in conception rate, farrowing rate, and total litter size among pig farms (p<0.05). The effect of number of sperm per dose liquid semen ($3{\times}10^9$ or $5{\times}10^9$) was not significant. Sows inseminated with homospermic semen showed significantly higher conception and farrowing rates but significantly lower total litter size (p<0.05). In conclusion, the number of sperm per dose liquid semen for AI could be lowered to $3{\times}10^9 $ without affecting reproductive performance in subtropical areas like Taiwan.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.770-775
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• 2008

Several studies reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) for meat quality on porcine chromosome 2. For application of the chromosomal information to pig industry through using DNA technology, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are developed by comparative re-sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of 13 candidate genes. A total of 34 SNPs were identified in 11 PCR products, an average of one SNP in every 296 bp.PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays were developed for 11 SNPs and used to genotype four commercial pig populations in Korea. The SNP markers were used to map candidate genes in QTL and to clarify the relevance of SNP and quantitative traits.

• 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.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1123-1133
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• 2021

Objective: Shandong indigenous pig breeds are important Chinese pig resources. Their progressive population decline in recent decades has attracted attention towards their conservation. Conservation genetics of these indigenous breeds are essential for developing a conservation and utilization scheme. Methods: A high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (HD-SNP) chip-based comparative analysis of genetic characteristics was performed for seven Shandong indigenous pig breeds in the context of five Western commercial breeds. Results: The results showed that Shandong indigenous pig breeds varied greatly in genetic diversity, effective population size, inbreeding level, and genetic distance with the Western commercial breeds. Specifically, Laiwu and Dapulian displayed low genetic diversity, and had a genetically distant relationship with the Western commercial breeds (average F statistics [F_ST] value of 0.3226 and 0.2666, respectively). Contrastingly, the other five breeds (Yantai, Licha, Yimeng, Wulain, and Heigai) displayed high genetic diversity within breed and had some extent of mixture pattern with the Western commercial breeds, especially Duroc and Landrace (F_ST values from 0.1043 to 0.2536). Furthermore, intensive gene flow was discovered among the seven Shandong indigenous breeds, particularly Wulian, Licha, and Heigai, as indicated by the large cluster formed in the principal component analysis scatterplot and small population differentiation (average of 0.1253) among them. Conclusion: Our study advances the understanding of genetic characteristics of Shandong indigenous breeds and provides essential information for developing an appropriate conservation and utilization scheme for these breeds.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.193-200
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• 2009

The pork from black-coated pigs is famous among-consumers for better eating quality. The loci affecting black coat color was identified in pig chromosome 6 in which several genetic effects on pork quality have been reported. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene is a major gene which plays a key role in regulation of eumelanin (black/brown) and phaeomelanin (red/yellow). In this study, the MC1R gene polymorphism was analyzed for pig breed determination and genetic association with pork quality traits. MC1R Ala243Thr variation was analyzed to determine a specific genotype for four commercial pig breeds (Landrace, Yorkshire, Berkshire and, Duroc) and a Korean native pigs (KNP). Then we developed original KNP-specific DNA markers to determine the pork from black-coated pigs using MC1R DNA sequences. The total length of the MC1R coding sequence ranged 1451bp in KNP. KNP had the 0201 allele pertaining to $E^{D1}$ but some of the KNP had the $E^P$ allele, probably reflecting the geneticintrogression of $E^P$ allele into KNP. Furthermore, a relationship between Leu102Pro single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype and pork quality phenotype were analyzed in F2 reciprocal-crossbred population between KNP and Yorkshire. Association analysis indicated that the allele of the MC1R gene has no effect on pork quality. These results suggest that black coat-color is not directly associated with preferred pork quality, but the black-coat color pig breed may have other genetic components for superior pork quality.