Breeding and Genetics

Publish Date: June 20, 2018

Lameness is one of the most significant reasons for involuntary sow culling, but good feet and leg structure may be overlooked or tolerated during gilt selection to achieve progress in other traits. however, structural conformation is highly heritable and producers may inadvertently create or intensify lameness issues in their herd by ignoring this trait. Lameness reduces sow productivity and longevity, and in the growing her is associated with reduced feed intake, decreased average daily gain, and may lead to a greater number of downer pigs at market. In addition to the economic consequences, high incidences of lameness is also a sign of poor animal welfare, and show be addressed on every farm. Examples of acceptable and unacceptable feet and leg soundness are featured in this video.

Publish Date: September 21, 2015

The performance of pigs is the result of two influences: genetics and environment. Because the genetics of a pig plays an important role in its performance and meat quality, all pig producers should be familiar with the potential and application of genetic selection. This factsheet provides an introduction to genetic principles and selection strategies for beginning pig farmers.

Publish Date: 20140819

This pocket guide is designed to help pork producers more effectively screen replacement gilt candidates before placing them in their breeding herds.  Visual appraisal can help identify replacement gilts with various problems that negatively impact sow longevity. The items shown in the pocket guide include conformation and structural soundness, feet and leg abnormalities, and reproductive soundness (underlines, external genitalia).  Identifying replacement…

Publish Date: 20120702

DNA from 57 generation-28 boars that had sired progeny in the NE selection and control lines was submitted to GeneSeek Inc., where genotypes for eight Single Nucleotide Polymorphic Markers (SNPs) affecting economic traits in pigs were determined. Three markers are reported to be associated with growth and composition of growth, three with meat quality, and…

Publish Date: 20120702

A preliminary experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of crystalline lactose on the relative abundance of sodium-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT)-1 mRNA in vitro in model porcine jejunal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). Cells were treated with low (28 mM) or high (56 mM) concentrations of lactose alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 ng/mL). Total…

Publish Date: 20120702

This project included three experiments conducted over a two year time frame. 1. Genetic relationship between individual piglet birth weight and performance traits. 2. Effect of piglet birth weight on body weight, growth, backfat, muscle, survival and quality of commercial market swine. 3. Effect of piglet birth weight on efficiency of commercial market swine. Complete…

Publish Date: 20120702

DND1 (dead end homolog 1), belonging to the RNA binding protein family, can impact miRNA:mRNA functional pathway and in turn may contribute to maintaining normal oocyte growth and quality as well as embryo development following fertilization. To characterize DND1 in pig maturing oocytes and cumulus cells, and early embryos, we examined DND1 mRNA and protein…

Publish Date: 20120702

The production and utilization of genetically modified animals greatly improves their utility in agriculture, as biomedical research models of human disease, for the production of recombinant pharmaceutical proteins, and for production of organs with greater potential for xenotransplantation. While numerous strategies have been utilized in the production of transgenic large animals, cell-based transgenesis followed by…

Publish Date: 20120702

This article was published in the Journal of Swine Health and Production, Jan./Feb. 2012. The objectives are to compare the effects of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccination on growth rate, backfat depth and loin depth of pigs in a high-health herd which contained different genetic lines.   

Publish Date: 20120702

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of maternal long chain n-3 fatty acid supplementation on the DNA methylation profile of offspring buffy coats. We demonstrated several methylated regions across the genome were influenced by maternal n-3 dietary treatment.