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. 2023 Jun 21:10:1172287.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1172287. eCollection 2023.

Estimation of genetic parameters of pig reproductive traits

Yiting Yang  1   2 , Mailin Gan  1   2 , Xidi Yang  1   2 , Peng Zhu  1   2 , Yi Luo  3 , Bin Liu  3 , Kangping Zhu  3 , Wenqiang Cheng  4 , Lei Chen  1   2 , Ye Zhao  1   2 , Lili Niu  1   2 , Yan Wang  1   2 , Hui Zhang  5 , Jingyong Wang  6 , Linyuan Shen  1   2 , Li Zhu  1   2
Affiliations

Estimation of genetic parameters of pig reproductive traits

Yiting Yang et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of the reproductive traits in three popular commercial pig breeds: Duroc, Landrace, and Yorkshire. Additionally, we evaluated the factors that influence these traits.

Method: We collected data from a large number of litters, including 1,887 Duroc, 21,787 Landrace, and 74,796 Yorkshire litters. Using the ASReml-R software to analyze 11 traits, which included: total number of pigs born (TNB); number of piglets born alive (NBA); number of piglets born healthy (NBH); number of piglets born weak (NBW); number of new stillborn piglets (NS); number of old stillborn piglets (OS); number of piglets born with malformation (NBM); number of mummified piglets (NM); total litter birthweight (LBW); litter average weight (LAW); duration of gestational period (GP). We investigated the effects of 4 fixed factors on the genetic parameters of these traits.

Results: Among the 11 reproductive-related traits, the gestational period belonged to the medium heritability traits (0.251-0.430), while remaining traits showed low heritability, ranging from 0.005 to 0.159. TNB, NBA, NBH, LBW had positive genetic correlation (0.737 ~ 0.981) and phenotype correlation (0.711 ~ 0.951). There was a negative genetic correlation between NBW and LAW (-0.452 ~ -0.978) and phenotypic correlation (-0.380 ~ -0.873). LBW was considered one of the most reasonable reproductive traits that could be used for breeding improvement. Repeatability of the three varieties was within the range of 0.000-0.097. In addition, the fixed effect selected in this study had a significant effect on Landrace and Yorkshire (p < 0.05).

Discussion: We found a positive correlation between LBW and TNB, NBA, and NBH, suggesting the potential for multi-trait association breeding. Factors such as farm, farrowing year, breeding season, and parity should be taken into consideration in practical production, as they may impact the reproductive performance of breeding pigs.

Keywords: animal mixed linear model; genetic parameters; influencing factors; pig breeding; reproductive traits.

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Conflict of interest statement

YL, BL, and KZ are employed by the Sichuan Dekon Livestock Foodstuff Group. WC is employed by the National Animal Husbandry Service. HZ is employed by the Sichuan Center for Animal Disease Control. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Genetic and phenotypic correlations among evaluated traits: total number of pigs born (TNB); number of piglets born alive (NBA); number of piglets born healthy (NBH); number of piglets born weak (NBW); number of new stillborn piglets (NS); number of old stillborn piglets (OS); number of piglets born with malformation (NBM); number of mummified piglets (NM); total litter birthweight (LBW); litter average weight (LAW); duration of gestational period (GP). Heatmap of genetic correlation and phenotypic correlation in Duroc (A), Landrace (B), and Yorkshire (C) (the upper part of the triangle refers to genetic correlation coefficients; the lower part of the triangle refers to phenotypic correlation coefficients), (D) genetic correlation of the three pig breeds expected to improve the evaluated traits, (E) phenotypic correlation for three pig breeds expected to improve traits, (F) genetic correlation coefficients of three pig breeds expected to reduce traits, and (G) phenotypic correlations for the three pig breeds expected to reduce traits.
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