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Animals
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Pig Genetics
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Pig Genetics

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 18962

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Enrico D’ Alessandro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Interests: pigs; swine production; genomic selection; conservation; biodiversity; food traceability; food quality; metagenomics; microbiome; mobilome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alessandro Zumbo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Università degli Studi di Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: pig; meat quality; rearing system; local breeds; genetic selection; biodiversity; QTLs; typical product

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The role of livestock is above all to provide sufficient food which is protein-rich, safe, and healthy with high nutritional and organoleptic values for humans. Different pig breeds can be used for the production of raw materials particularly suitable for production of typical processed products. The higher economic value of typical productions compared to conventional commercial products and the growing consumer preference towards quality food could give support plans for livestock biodiversity conservation.

Molecular DNA markers such as microsatellites, SNPs, and CNVs are used to investigate the genetic basis of traits, supplying support to phenotypic evaluation and genealogical data analysis. The collection of phenotypic data and different genomic approaches can be used to investigate the genetic basis of inheritance, for QTL research, and for genetic selection in the animals.

Dr. Enrico D’ Alessandro
Dr. Alessandro Zumbo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Pig
  • Local breeds
  • Meat quality
  • Traceability
  • Typical product
  • Conservation
  • Biodiversity
  • Food safety

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2543 KiB  
Article
Influence of Genotype on Endometrial Angiogenesis during Early Pregnancy in Piau and Commercial Line Gilts
by José Carlos Montes-Vergara, Jurandy Mauro Penitente-Filho, Mariana Machado-Neves, Lucas Corrêa Martins Machado, Faider Alberto Castaño-Villadiego, Karine Assis Costa, Eduardo Paulino da Costa, Carolina Filardi de Campos, Camilo José Ramírez-López, Simone Eliza Facioni Guimarães, Paulo Sávio Lopes and José Domingos Guimarães
Animals 2022, 12(5), 553; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050553 - 23 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1851
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the endometrial angiogenesis of pregnant commercial line and Piau gilts during early pregnancy. We used 27 gilts, divided into three groups according to the type of mating: Commercial (n = 9), commercial line females mated with commercial [...] Read more.
This study aimed to evaluate the endometrial angiogenesis of pregnant commercial line and Piau gilts during early pregnancy. We used 27 gilts, divided into three groups according to the type of mating: Commercial (n = 9), commercial line females mated with commercial line males; Cross-mated (n = 9), Piau females mated with commercial line males; and Piau (n = 9), Piau females mated with Piau males. Each group was divided into three subgroups based on gestational age at the time of slaughter (7, 15, and 30 days of pregnancy). Immediately after slaughter, endometrial samples were obtained for histological evaluation and for analysis of the relative transcript abundance (RTA) of angiogenesis-related genes (HIF1α, FGF9, ANG1, TEK, VEGFA, ANGPT1, and ANGPT2). The number of endometrial glands was similar among groups but decreased with gestational age (p < 0.05). Piau females showed a higher number of blood vessels (p < 0.05) at 7 and 15 days of pregnancy, but no differences were observed among groups at 30 days, suggesting an influence of the male genotype on the pattern of uterine vascularization. There were no differences among groups for RTA of the FGF9, HIF1α, TEK, VEGFA, ANGPT1, and ANGPT2 genes. The HIF1α-gene RTA was higher at 7 and 15 days of pregnancy; for TEK and ANGPT1, the RTA was higher at 15 days of pregnancy; and the RTA of VEGFA and ANGPT2 genes were higher at 30 days of pregnancy. The ANG1 RTA was similar for pregnancies in the commercial and Piau groups but was higher (p < 0.05) at 15 days in the Cross-mated group, suggesting an interaction between genotypes. Overall, the pattern found for the RTA of angiogenesis-related genes was similar among the groups in this study, although some phenotypic differences could be noted, such as the highest number of blood vessels being found during early pregnancy of Piau gilts. The results of the gene RTA when crossed with phenotypic data led to conclusions that are conflicting with those reported in the literature. However, noteworthy is that angiogenesis is a complex process in which the balance between stimulatory and inhibitory factors may be related to time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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10 pages, 775 KiB  
Article
The Nero Lucano Pig Breed: Recovery and Variability
by Carmelisa Valluzzi, Andrea Rando, Nicolò P. P. Macciotta, Giustino Gaspa and Paola Di Gregorio
Animals 2021, 11(5), 1331; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051331 - 7 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2173
Abstract
The Nero Lucano (NL) pig is a black coat colored breed characterized by a remarkable ability to adapt to the difficult territory and climatic conditions of Basilicata region in Southern Italy. In the second half of the twentieth century, technological innovation, agricultural evolution, [...] Read more.
The Nero Lucano (NL) pig is a black coat colored breed characterized by a remarkable ability to adapt to the difficult territory and climatic conditions of Basilicata region in Southern Italy. In the second half of the twentieth century, technological innovation, agricultural evolution, new breeding methods and the demand for increasingly lean meat brought the breed almost to extinction. Only in 2001, thanks to local institutions such as: the Basilicata Region, the University of Basilicata, the Regional Breeders Association and the Medio Basento mountain community, the NL pig returned to populate the area with the consequent possibility to appreciate again its specific cured meat products. We analyzed the pedigrees recorded by the breeders and the Illumina Porcine SNP60 BeadChip genotypes in order to obtain the genetic structure of the NL pig. Results evidenced that this population is characterized by long mean generation intervals (up to 3.5 yr), low effective population size (down to 7.2) and high mean inbreeding coefficients (FMOL = 0.53, FROH = 0.39). This picture highlights the low level of genetic variability and the critical issues to be faced for the complete recovery of this population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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13 pages, 18023 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Population Structures in Chinese Miniature Pigs Revealed by SINE Retrotransposon Insertion Polymorphisms, a New Type of Genetic Markers
by Cai Chen, Xiaoyan Wang, Wencheng Zong, Enrico D’Alessandro, Domenico Giosa, Yafen Guo, Jiude Mao and Chengyi Song
Animals 2021, 11(4), 1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041136 - 15 Apr 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2529
Abstract
RIPs have been developed as effective genetic markers and popularly applied for genetic analysis in plants, but few reports are available for domestic animals. Here, we established 30 new molecular markers based on the SINE RIPs, and applied them for population genetic analysis [...] Read more.
RIPs have been developed as effective genetic markers and popularly applied for genetic analysis in plants, but few reports are available for domestic animals. Here, we established 30 new molecular markers based on the SINE RIPs, and applied them for population genetic analysis in seven Chinese miniature pigs. The data revealed that the closed herd (BM-clo), inbreeding herd (BM-inb) of Bama miniature pigs were distinctly different from the BM-cov herds in the conservation farm, and other miniature pigs (Wuzhishan, Congjiang Xiang, Tibetan, and Mingguang small ear). These later five miniature pig breeds can further be classified into two clades based on a phylogenetic tree: one included BM-cov and Wuzhishan, the other included Congjiang Xiang, Tibetan, and Mingguang small ear, which was well-supported by structure analysis. The polymorphic information contents estimated by using SINE RIPs are lower than the predictions based on microsatellites. Overall, the genetic distances and breed-relationships between these populations revealed by 30 SINE RIPs generally agree with their evolutions and geographic distributions. We demonstrated the potential of SINE RIPs as new genetic markers for genetic monitoring and population structure analysis in pigs, which can even be extended to other livestock animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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18 pages, 289 KiB  
Article
Estimation of Additive and Dominance Genetic Effects on Body Weight, Carcass and Ham Quality Traits in Heavy Pigs
by Valentina Bonfatti, Roberta Rostellato and Paolo Carnier
Animals 2021, 11(2), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020481 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2092
Abstract
Neglecting dominance effects in genetic evaluations may overestimate the predicted genetic response achievable by a breeding program. Additive and dominance genetic effects were estimated by pedigree-based models for growth, carcass, fresh ham and dry-cured ham seasoning traits in 13,295 crossbred heavy pigs. Variance [...] Read more.
Neglecting dominance effects in genetic evaluations may overestimate the predicted genetic response achievable by a breeding program. Additive and dominance genetic effects were estimated by pedigree-based models for growth, carcass, fresh ham and dry-cured ham seasoning traits in 13,295 crossbred heavy pigs. Variance components estimated by models including litter effects, dominance effects, or both, were compared. Across traits, dominance variance contributed up to 26% of the phenotypic variance and was, on average, 22% of the additive genetic variance. The inclusion of litter, dominance, or both these effects in models reduced the estimated heritability by 9% on average. Confounding was observed among litter, additive genetic and dominance effects. Model fitting improved for models including either the litter or dominance effects, but it did not benefit from the inclusion of both. For 15 traits, model fitting slightly improved when dominance effects were included in place of litter effects, but no effects on animal ranking and accuracy of breeding values were detected. Accounting for litter effects in the models for genetic evaluations would be sufficient to prevent the overestimation of the genetic variance while ensuring computational efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
12 pages, 2078 KiB  
Article
Effect of Pregnane X Receptor on CYP3A29 Expression in Porcine Alveolar Macrophages during Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Infection
by Xiaoyang Yang, Fei Xing, Li Wang, Weimin Zhao, Yanfeng Fu, Feng Tu, Bixia Li, Xiaomin Fang and Shouwen Ren
Animals 2021, 11(2), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020349 - 30 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2167
Abstract
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae, Mhp) is the causative agent of mycoplasma pneumonia of swine (MPS). M. hyopneumoniae infection causes inflammation in pigs and leads to considerable economic losses in the pig industry. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a [...] Read more.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae, Mhp) is the causative agent of mycoplasma pneumonia of swine (MPS). M. hyopneumoniae infection causes inflammation in pigs and leads to considerable economic losses in the pig industry. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a pluripotent gene regulatory protein that plays an important role in regulating cytochrome P-450 (CYP) in pigs in the context of inflammatory responses, drug metabolism, homeostasis, etc. We previously reported that cytochrome P450 3A29 (CYP3A29) expression was significantly upregulated in pigs infected with M. hyopneumoniae compared with healthy control pigs. This experiment mainly focused on identifying the role of PXR in the regulation of CYP3A29 and inflammatory factors after M. hyopneumoniae infection by establishing pig alveolar macrophage (PAM) cells in which PXR was overexpressed or silenced. Our results showed that the overexpression of PXR could significantly improve the protein and the mRNA expression levels of CYP3A29 with and without M. hyopneumoniae infection in PAM cells. After the expression of PXR was inhibited, protein and mRNA expression levels of CYP3A29 were significantly reduced with and without M. hyopneumoniae infection in PAM cells. Moreover, PXR can regulate the mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and IL-8 during M. hyopneumoniae infection of PAM cells. In conclusion, these results suggest that PXR positively regulates CYP3A29 expression during the inflammatory response caused by M. hyopneumoniae infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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16 pages, 3616 KiB  
Article
Liver Expression of IGF2 and Related Proteins in ZBED6 Gene-Edited Pig by RNA-Seq
by Haidong Zhao, Mingli Wu, Shirong Liu, Xiaoqin Tang, Xiaohua Yi, Qi Li, Shuhui Wang and Xiuzhu Sun
Animals 2020, 10(11), 2184; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112184 - 22 Nov 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3043
Abstract
Zinc finger BED-type containing 6 (ZBED6), a highly conservative transcription factor of placental mammals, has conservative interaction of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) based on the 16 bp binding sites of ZBED6 on the IGF2 sequence. IGF2 is related [...] Read more.
Zinc finger BED-type containing 6 (ZBED6), a highly conservative transcription factor of placental mammals, has conservative interaction of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) based on the 16 bp binding sites of ZBED6 on the IGF2 sequence. IGF2 is related to embryo growth and cell proliferation. At the same time, its functions in muscle and adipose in mammals have been widely mentioned in recent studies. To further investigate the mechanism of ZBED6 on IGF2, we detected the expression of IGF2 and related genes in ZBED6 single allele knockout (ZBED6-SKO) pig tissues and analyzed the transcriptome of ZBED6-SKO pig liver. Through RNA-seq, we captured nine up-regulated genes and eight down-regulated genes which related to lipid metabolism. The results showed that the mRNA of IGF2 had an upward trend after the partial knockout of ZBED6 in liver and had no significant difference in protein expression of IGF2. In summary, ZBED6-SKO could affect the secretion of IGF2 in pig liver and its own lipid metabolism. Our research has provided basic information for revealing the regulatory mechanism of the interaction between ZBED6 and IGF2 in mammals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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Review

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13 pages, 647 KiB  
Review
Sicilian Black Pig: An Overview
by Alessandro Zumbo, Anna Maria Sutera, Giuseppe Tardiolo and Enrico D’Alessandro
Animals 2020, 10(12), 2326; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122326 - 7 Dec 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3856
Abstract
The Sicilian black pig (SB) (Nero Siciliano), also known as the Nero dei Nebrodi, Nero delle Madonie, or Nero dell’Etna pig ecotype, is an autochthonous Italian breed. The origins of this breed date back to Greek and Carthaginian dominations. In ancient times, its [...] Read more.
The Sicilian black pig (SB) (Nero Siciliano), also known as the Nero dei Nebrodi, Nero delle Madonie, or Nero dell’Etna pig ecotype, is an autochthonous Italian breed. The origins of this breed date back to Greek and Carthaginian dominations. In ancient times, its breeding was fairly common throughout Sicily, registering only a temporary reduction during the Arab domination. This breed is known primarily for its distinctive black coat, although some individuals display wattles and a partially or wholly white face. The SB pig has a birth rate with an average per sow of 7.6 piglets, each of 1.4 kg live body weight, showing an average daily gain (ADG) of 346 g/day during the fattening period. Slaughter generally takes place at an average age of 390 days, with an average live weight of 95 kg. This breed also appears to withstand adverse climatic conditions and resist disease. The purpose of this manuscript is to offer a general overview regarding the Sicilian Black pig and to consider the recent findings related to genome investigation. The recent application of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies in the study of the genome of autochthonous breeds showed that polymorphisms of some candidate genes for production performance and phenotypic traits represent important information for selection processes. The protection of autochthonous breeds, intended as sources of genomic diversity for the further improvements of pigs for commercial use, constitutes a valuable opportunity to create new sustainable pig chains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pig Genetics)
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