Genetic and genomic characterization of vulva size traits in Yorkshire and Landrace gilts
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The Department of Animal Science originally concerned itself with teaching the selection, breeding, feeding and care of livestock. Today it continues this study of the symbiotic relationship between animals and humans, with practical focuses on agribusiness, science, and animal management.
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The Department of Animal Husbandry was established in 1898. The name of the department was changed to the Department of Animal Science in 1962. The Department of Poultry Science was merged into the department in 1971.
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- Department of Animal Husbandry (1898–1962)
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (parent college)
- Department of Poultry Science (merged with, 1971)
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Abstract
Background: Reproductive performance is critical for efficient swine production. Recent results indicated that vulva size (VS) may be predictive of reproductive performance in sows. Study objectives were to estimate genetic parameters, identify genomic regions associated, and estimate genomic prediction accuracies (GPA) for VS traits.
Results: Heritability estimates of VS traits, vulva area (VA), height (VH), and width (VW) measurements, were moderately to highly heritable in Yorkshire, with 0.46 ± 0.10, 0.55 ± 0.10, 0.31 ± 0.09, respectively, whereas these estimates were low to moderate in Landrace, with 0.16 ± 0.09, 0.24 ± 0.11, and 0.08 ± 0.06, respectively. Genetic correlations within VS traits were very high for both breeds, with the lowest of 0.67 ± 0.29 for VH and VW for Landrace. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for Landrace, reveled genomic region associated with VS traits on Sus scrofa chromosome (SSC) 2 (154–157Mb), 7 (107–110 Mb), 8 (4–6Mb), and 10 (8–19 Mb). For Yorkshire, genomic regions on SSC 1 (87–91 and 282–287Mb) and 5 (67Mb) were identified. All regions explained at least 3.4% of the genetic variance. Accuracies of genomic prediction were moderate in Landrace, ranging from 0.30 (VH) to 0.61 (VA), and lower for Yorkshire, with 0.07 (VW) to 0.11 (VH). Between-breed and multi-breed genomic prediction accuracies were low.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that VS traits are heritable in Landrace and Yorkshire gilts. Genomic analyses show that major QTL control these traits, and they differ between breed. Genomic information can be used to increase genetic gains for these traits in gilts. Additional research must be done to validate the GWAS and genomic prediction results reported in our study.
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This article is published as Corredor, Flor-Anita, Leticia P. Sanglard, Richard J. Leach, Jason W. Ross, Aileen F. Keating, and Nick VL Serão. "Genetic and genomic characterization of vulva size traits in Yorkshire and Landrace gilts." BMC Genetics 21 (2020): 28. doi: 10.1186/s12863-020-0834-9.