title: Saving genetic resources of native pigs in Occidental and Oriental countries - practical examples of the characterization and utilization of native pigs in Hungary and Laos.
abstract: Worldwide, only a few "fatty" pig breeds exist with different and/or regional utilization. Using the Hungarian Mangalica, which almost went extinct in Europe and the Lao Moo Lat pig, which still has a large population in South-East Asia as exemples, we wanted to demonstrate that indigenous (fatty) pig breeds may represent both national value and tremendous economic potential. Since these less prolific and less productive breeds cannot contribute to mass production, new market roles and methods should be established for them in the premium segment of pork trading. Thus their preservation and propagation needs the comprehensive collaboration of commercial, governmental actors and researchers. Briefly summarizing the history, we report the current results of reproductive physiology research. The commercial renaissance of Mangalica pigs is indebted to the enthusiastic efforts of basic scientists, pig breeding experts and dedicated Mangalica producers. Scientific achievements were applied to practical breeding and production of delicious pork and processed products, which ultimately made the economic success in the Mangalica sector possible. Both, research on and utilization of endangered (pig) breeds maintain not only breed diversities, but also may improve the livelihood of farmers worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Animal Breeding and Nutrition, 2053 Herceghalom, Hungary.
authors.forename: Jozsef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rátky
authors.forename: Istvan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Egerszegi
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Toth
authors.forename: Soukanh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keonuchan
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manabe
authors.forename: Klaus-Peter
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Brüssow
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000191:economics; D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D004032:Diet / Q000208:ethnology; D056727:Endangered Species / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D063427:Food Quality; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006814:Hungary; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D007812:Laos; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics; D058974:Phylogeography; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*