Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec;54(6):743-751.
doi: 10.1111/age.13357. Epub 2023 Oct 9.

Genome-wide association study using a single-step approach for teat number in Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire pigs in Korea

Jun Park  1 , Kyoung-Tag Do  2 , Kyung-Do Park  1 , Hak-Kyo Lee  1   3
Affiliations

Genome-wide association study using a single-step approach for teat number in Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire pigs in Korea

Jun Park et al. Anim Genet. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

We investigated the genetic basis of teat number in sows, which is an important factor in their reproductive performance. We collected genotyping data from 20 353 pigs of three breeds (Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire) using the Porcine SNP60K Bead Chip, and analyzed phenotypic data from 240 603 pigs. The heritability values of total teat number were 0.33 ± 0.02, 0.51 ± 0.01 and 0.50 ± 0.01 in Duroc, Landrace and Yorkshire pigs, respectively. A genome-wide association study was used to identify significant chromosomal regions associated with teat number in SSC7 and SSC9 in Duroc pig, SSC3, SSC7 and SSC18 in Landrace pig, and SSC7, SSC8 and SSC10 in Yorkshire pig. Among the markers, MARC0038565, located between the vertnin (VRTN) and synapse differentiation-inducing 1-like (SYNDIG1L) genes, showed the strongest association in the Duroc pig and was significant in all breeds. In Landrace and Yorkshire pigs, the most significant markers were located within the apoptosis resistant E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (AREL1) and latent transforming growth factor beta-binding protein 2 (LTBP2) genes in SSC7, respectively. VRTN is a candidate gene regulating the teat number. Most markers were located in SSC7, indicating their significance in determining teat number and their potential as valuable genomic selection targets for improving this trait. Extensive linkage disequilibrium blocks were identified in SSC7, supporting their use in genomic selection strategies. Our study provides valuable insights into the genetic architecture of teat numbers in pigs, and helps identify candidate genes and genomic regions that may contribute to this economically important trait.

Keywords: Duroc; GWAS; Landrace; Sus scrofa; VRTN; Yorkshire; number of teats.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Aguilar, I., Legarra, A., Cardoso, F., Masuda, Y., Lourenco, D. & Misztal, I. (2019) Frequentist p-values for large-scale-single step genome-wide association, with an application to birth weight in American Angus cattle. Genetics, Selection, Evolution, 51, 28.
    1. Alexopoulos, J.G., Lines, D.S., Hallett, S. & Plush, K.J. (2018) A review of success factors for piglet fostering in lactation. Animals, 8, 38.
    1. Andersen, I.L., Naevdal, E. & Boe, K.E. (2011) Maternal investment, sibling competition, and offspring survival with increasing litter size and parity in pigs (Sus scrofa). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 65, 1159-1167.
    1. Arakawa, A., Okumura, N., Taniguchi, M., Hayashi, T., Hirose, K., Fukawa, K. et al. (2015) Genome-wide association QTL mapping for teat number in a purebred population of Duroc pigs. Animal Genetics, 46, 571-575.
    1. Balzani, A., Cordell, H.J., Sutcliffe, E. & Edwards, S.A. (2016) Heritability of udder morphology and colostrum quality traits in swine. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 3636-3644.

LinkOut - more resources