Genome-wide association study reveals polymorphisms associated with total number born in pigs in mexican Landrace-Yorkshire sows

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are based on the field of animal genetics, and have the power to detect mutations, facilitating the identification of diverse productive traits. This study aimed to elucidate how single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affect the number of piglets born alive (NBA) per litter. Forty-eight interbreed Landrace-Yorkshire sows, of which 33 sows had high estimated breeding value (HEBV) scores and 15 sows had low estimated breeding value (LEBV) from two different production locations in western Mexico were genotyped by microarrays. In total, nine SNPs were considered to be associated with NBA traits. These loci were located on chromosomes 3, 9, 11, 12, and 17. This study identified a statistically important marker (rs81283526), which was located in the ABCC1 gene on chromosome 3, potentially suggesting an association with the number of piglets born alive trait in Mexican Landrace-Yorkshire sows. The marker-assisted selection (MAS) approach using the signals described in this study could be used to apply them towards enhancing pig breeding programs.