title: A genome-wide association study in large white and landrace pig populations for number piglets born alive.
abstract: The number of piglets born alive (NBA) per litter is one of the most important traits in pig breeding due to its influence on production efficiency. It is difficult to improve NBA because the heritability of the trait is low and it is governed by a high number of loci with low to moderate effects. To clarify the biological and genetic background of NBA, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed using 4,012 Large White and Landrace pigs from herdbook and commercial breeding companies in Germany (3), Austria (1) and Switzerland (1). The animals were genotyped with the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip. Because of population stratifications within and between breeds, clusters were formed using the genetic distances between the populations. Five clusters for each breed were formed and analysed by GWAS approaches. In total, 17 different significant markers affecting NBA were found in regions with known effects on female reproduction. No overlapping significant chromosome areas or QTL between Large White and Landrace breed were detected.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Department of Animal Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergfelder-Drüing
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Department of Animal Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grosse-Brinkhaus
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research (FBF), Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.affiliation: Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Malena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erbe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Department of Animal Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schellander
authors.affiliation: Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Henner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simianer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Department of Animal Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tholen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D008098:Litter Size / Q000235:genetics*; D050498:Live Birth; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D034421:Sus scrofa