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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Genetics and Animal Breeding » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394328
Research Project: Identifying Genomic Solutions to Improve Efficiency of Swine Production

Location: Genetics and Animal Breeding

Title: Utilizing genomics to understand skeletal and mammary development in pigs

Author
item Rohrer, Gary
item WIJESENA, HIRUNI - Orise Fellow
item Keel-Mercer, Brittney
item Snelling, Warren
item Lents, Clay

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science Supplement
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2022
Publication Date: 9/21/2022
Citation: Rohrer, G.A., Wijesena, H.R., Keel, B.N., Snelling, W.M., Lents, C.A. 2022. Utilizing genomics to understand skeletal and mammary development in pigs [abstract]. Journal of Animal Science Supplement. 100(3):11. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac247.019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac247.019

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Embryonic development in mammals is strictly controlled. Yet, anomalies regularly occur within certain species. The pig is one of few species where variation in vertebra numbers frequently occurs. Domesticated lines typically have a greater number of thoracic and/or lumbar vertebra than the number of vertebrae in most mammals. Number of functional teats is also variable in swine and deviation from bilateral symmetry is common. Positive genetic correlations between these two traits have been reported and a gene variant in vertnin affects both traits. To further investigate the genetic correlation between teat counts and vertebra numbers, a genomewide association study was conducted using 5,939 genotyped animals from the USMARC population representative of commercial swine. All animals were genotyped with one of four different Illumina-based SNP BeadChips. Genotypes were imputed for 71,634 SNP markers using pedigrees with FindHap. gEBV were estimated and SNP effects backsolved using WOMBAT. The vertnin region had the greatest number and most significant associations for all traits analyzed. However, there were no other significant associations that overlapped between vertebra and teat number. Correlation among all estimated SNP effects between vertebra and teat number was ~0.21. However, if estimated SNP effects for markers surrounding vertnin were removed, the correlation dropped to 0.14, while the correlation among the marker effects in the vertnin region was ~0.90. Genomic heritabilities for teat and thoracic number were 0.36 and 0.78. Analyses where the GRM only included markers surrounding vertnin estimated heritabilites for teat and thoracic number of 0.05 and 0.48, indicating vertnin described a majority of genetic variation for rib number but much less for teat number. Genetic and phenotypic correlations among weight traits and vertebra number were near zero. A positive phenotypic association between teat number and birth weight existed despite a low negative genetic correlation.