Swine

Genetic correlations between growth traits measured in a nucleus purebred Duroc population and the survival of their progeny in commercial herds.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between growth traits and survival in a nucleus Duroc population. Growth traits were recorded on growing boars and gilts, undergoing performance test in nucleus the farms of the AcuFast breeding program. This will be denoted as the purebred population (PB). Survival was recorded in a commercial tester herd, where crossbred sows are mated to selected purebred Duroc boars. The crossbred progeny are then tested under commercial conditions. This will be denoted as the crossbred population (CB). The PB populations included a total of 86,851 individuals, for which were available records of birth weight, weaning weight, on-test weight as well as off-test weight, back-fat depth, loin muscle depth and intra-muscular fat (together with the associated date of recording). In addition, measures of pre-weaning growth, nursery growth and finisher growth were calculated. The CB population included a total of 298,489 individuals, with records of birth weight, birth date and mortality date. These were used to calculate the survival (0/1) at 5, 30 and 150 days of life. All individuals had full pedigree information, traced back up to 10 generations. The two sets of records are linked by 425 common sires, which had progeny records for both CB and PB traits and were genotyped using a custom 70k AcuFast BeadChip.The statistical models used included several fixed and random effects, in agreement with the routine genetic evaluations for these traits. Variance components and genetic correlations were estimated using bivariate models implemented in a Single-Step GBLUP approach, using Gibbs sampling. Results show a strong and positive (0.728) genetic correlation for birth weight measured in the two populations. The correlation between CB birth weight and the other PB growth traits dissipates with the increasing of the age PB traits are recorded (from 0.446 to 0.029). The genetic correlations between CB survival and early-life PB growth are positive but not significant, becoming null with later-life PB traits. The results from this study corroborate the shared genetic architecture between CB and PB birth weight. Results also suggest a favorable relationship between growth and survival, which favors the selection for these traits but also warrants the need of a commercial tester herd for the genetic improvement of survival in swine.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Tiezzi, F., Callegaro, S., Schwab, C. & See, G., (2026) “Genetic correlations between growth traits measured in a nucleus purebred Duroc population and the survival of their progeny in commercial herds.”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2282329. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.23467

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