Abstract
Simple SummaryReproductive traits are economically important in the pig industry, and it is critical to explore their underlying genetic architecture. Hence, four reproductive traits, including litter size at birth (LSB), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW), and litter weight at weaning (LWW), were examined. Through a genome-wide association study in a Duroc pig herd, several candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genes were found potentially associated with the traits of interest. These findings help to understand the genetic basis of porcine reproductive traits and could be applied in pig breeding programs. In the pig industry, reproductive traits constantly influence the production efficiency. To identify markers and candidate genes underlying porcine reproductive traits, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in a Duroc pig population. In total, 1067 pigs were genotyped using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chips, and four reproductive traits, including litter size at birth (LSB), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW), and litter weight at weaning (LWW), were examined. The results showed that 20 potential SNPs reached the level of suggestive significance and were associated with these traits of interest. Several important candidate genes, including TXN2, KCNA1, ENSSSCG00000003546, ZDHHC18, MAP2K6, BICC1, FAM135B, EPHB2, SEMA4D, ST3GAL1, KCTD3, FAM110A, TMEM132D, TBX3, and FAM110A, were identified and might compose the underlying genetic architecture of porcine reproductive traits. These findings help to understand the genetic basis of porcine reproductive traits and provide important information for molecular breeding in pigs.
Highlights
IntroductionAnimal reproductive traits are economically important but are mostly sex-specific (such as sperm quality in males and fertility in females), and most of them are complex and present low heritability
Animal reproductive traits are economically important but are mostly sex-specific, and most of them are complex and present low heritability.the genetic improvement on these traits is especially difficult compared to other complex traits in livestock breeding practices
The main objective of this study was to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify potentially important single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) or quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions associated with four reproductive traits, including litter size at birth (LSB), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW), and litter weight at weaning (LWW) in a Duroc pig population
Summary
Animal reproductive traits are economically important but are mostly sex-specific (such as sperm quality in males and fertility in females), and most of them are complex and present low heritability. The genetic improvement on these traits is especially difficult compared to other complex traits in livestock breeding practices. Animals 2019, 9, 732 strategies, the slow genetic improvement has increased the need for molecular breeding, such as genomic selection [1]. The fast development of molecular quantitative genetics methods and high-throughput genotyping techniques has increased the feasibility of genetic improvements of reproductive traits via marker-assisted selection or genomic selection. It has been proved that the genetic gain could be achieved by incorporating prior information such as candidate genes or quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting the traits under consideration [2]. For a better genetic dissertation and breeding practice, it is critical to explore the underlying genetic architecture of reproductive traits
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