Hong Joon Ki, Kim Yong Min, Cho Kyu Ho, Cho Eun Seok, Lee Deuk Hwan, Choi Tae Jeong
National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan 31000, Korea.
Department of Animal Life Resources, Hankyong University, Anseong 17579, Korea.
Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. 2019 Aug;32(8):1077-1083. doi: 10.5713/ajas.18.0789. Epub 2019 Feb 7.
Sow longevity is important for efficient and profitable pig farming. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in social genetic effect (SGE) of pigs on stress-tolerance and behavior. The present study aimed to estimate genetic correlations among average daily gain (ADG), stayability (STAY), and number of piglets born alive at the first parity (NBA1) in Korean Yorkshire pigs, using a model including SGE.
The phenotypic records of ADG and reproductive traits of 33,120 and 11,654 pigs, respectively, were evaluated. The variances and (co) variances of the studied traits were estimated by a multi-trait animal model applying the Bayesian with linear-threshold models using Gibbs sampling.
The direct and SGEs on ADG had a significantly negative (-0.30) and neutral (0.04) genetic relationship with STAY, respectively. In addition, the genetic correlation between the social effects on ADG and NBA1 tended to be positive (0.27), unlike the direct effects (-0.04). The genetic correlation of the total effect on ADG with that of STAY was negative (-0.23) but non-significant, owing to the social effect.
These results suggested that total genetic effect on growth in the SGE model might reduce the negative effect on sow longevity because of the growth potential of pigs. We recommend including social effects as selection criteria in breeding programs to obtain satisfactory genetic changes in both growth and longevity.
母猪长寿对于高效且盈利的养猪业很重要。最近，猪的社会遗传效应（SGE）对压力耐受性和行为的影响越来越受到关注。本研究旨在使用包含社会遗传效应的模型，估计韩国约克夏猪平均日增重（ADG）、持续留种能力（STAY）和头胎产活仔数（NBA1）之间的遗传相关性。
分别评估了33120头猪的ADG表型记录和11654头猪的繁殖性状表型记录。利用贝叶斯线性阈值模型通过吉布斯抽样的多性状动物模型估计所研究性状的方差和（协）方差。
ADG的直接遗传效应和社会遗传效应与STAY的遗传关系分别为显著负相关（-0.30）和中性相关（0.04）。此外，与直接效应（-0.04）不同，ADG的社会效应与NBA1之间的遗传相关性趋于正相关（0.27）。由于社会效应，ADG的总效应与STAY的总效应的遗传相关性为负（-0.23）但不显著。
这些结果表明，由于猪的生长潜力，SGE模型中对生长的总遗传效应可能会降低对母猪长寿的负面影响。我们建议在育种计划中纳入社会效应作为选择标准，以便在生长和长寿方面都能获得令人满意的遗传进展。
