Genetic correlation between leg conformation in young pigs,sow reproduction and longevity in Danish pig populations |
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| Authors: | T H Le E Norberg B Nielsen P Madsen K Nilsson N Lundeheim |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden;2. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmarkle.hongthu@mbg.au.dk;4. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark;5. Pig Research Centre, Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Axeltorv, Denmark |
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| Abstract: | AbstractSelection for sow longevity using information from traits, which are expressed in early life and genetically highly related to longevity, is expected to be more effective than direct selection as it can overcome the disadvantage of late recording of true longevity. Our aim was to investigate the correlation between leg conformation recorded on young pigs, litter size at first parity and longevity of Danish Landrace and Yorkshire sows. Information on conformation from 116,733 Landrace and 89,963 Yorkshire pigs and information on reproduction and longevity from 27,070 Landrace and 11,895 Yorkshire sows were analyzed. All considered traits were low to moderately heritable, ranging from 0.02 to 0.41. In general, both conformation and reproduction traits were favorably genetically correlated with longevity (0.07–0.39 and 0.00–0.58, respectively). These estimates suggest a potential of improving sow longevity by selection on conformation recorded at young age and litter size at first parity. |
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| Keywords: | Association gait stayability survival swine |
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