Identification of genomic regions associated with piglet survival and mortality

Choi, Yoon Jung; Kim, Sang Wook; Yoon, Joon Ho; Choi, Bong Hwan; Kim, Tae Hun; Kim, Kwan Suk

Abstract

One of the major problems in the modern pig industry is infectious disease. Susceptibility to infectious diseases is influenced by both constitutional (e.g. genotype, age, gender, and reproductive status) and environmental factors (e.g. nutrition, management, infections, and other forms of stress). Genetic variations within individual animals or herds can cause differences in the execution of immune functions against infectious agents in domestic pigs. The objectives of the present study were to identify genetic factor(s) responsible for piglet survival and mortality under commercial field conditions with infectious diseases as well as determine QTL regions for immune capacity in a pig reference family. Sex ratio was examined between normal grown and presumed dead groups of F2 animals generated by Korean native pigs (KNP) and Yorkshire (YS) breeds. The ratio of males was significantly higher in the presumed dead group than in the normal grown group. In order to study genetic factors associated with presumed mortality under disease outbreak, allelic frequencies of 239 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were compared between normal grown and presumed dead groups. Exactly 22 SNPs showed significant differences in their allelic frequencies between the two groups, and four of them were validated with another commercial population divided by normal and emaciated pigs. Furthermore, the relationships between 239 SNPs and immune-related traits were studied. These results demonstrate that identification of genetic components of animal immune systems and susceptibility to infectious diseases is possible and will be useful to improve disease resistance in individuals as well as in breeding programs.