Genetic Basis of Digestibility in Nursery Pigs under PRRSV Infection

Abstract Text: Digestibility data on 122 growing pigs infected with the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV) were used to estimate genetic parameters and to perform a genome-wide association study. The digestibility traits (energy and dry matter) had moderate to low heritabilities and moderate genetic correlations with weight gain and viral load. QTLs for the digestibility traits were found on SSC1, SSC4, SSC6, and SSC13, jointly explaining over 8% of the genetic variance. Most of these regions have been previously associated with growth- or feed intake- related traits, and harbor genes that are involved in important mechanisms related to energy and nutrient usage. In addition, we identified one SNP on SSC1 that was associated with dry matter and energy digestibility in PRRSV infected growing pigs, as well as provided associations with the WUR10000125 SNP on SSC4, which has previously been associated with the response to PRRSV infection.

Keywords: genetic parameters