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This study investigates the genetic makeup of body mass index (BMI) in pigs, focusing on breeding implications.

January 16, 2026Veterinary Sciences0 citationsOpen Access

Genome-Wide Association Study of Body Mass Index in a Commercial Landrace × Yorkshire Crossbred Pig Population

LJLong JinJilin University CBChunyan BaiJilin University JCJinghan ChenJilin University

Key Points

This study investigates the genetic makeup of body mass index (BMI) in pigs, focusing on breeding implications.
Genotyping of 439 crossbred pigs using a 50 K SNP chip
Estimation of heritability via a mixed linear model
Conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with the BLINK model
Comparison of two carcass-based BMI metrics (BMI-S and BMI-O)
Moderate-to-high heritability estimated for BMI-S (0.55) and BMI-O (0.47)
Identification of 17 significant SNPs, including rs81382440 and rs80898583
Key candidate genes linked to lipid and energy metabolism and muscle development
Improved phenotypic accuracy for carcass-based BMI metrics

Abstract

The Body Mass Index (BMI), integrating body weight and length, is a widely used metric for obesity assessment in humans. As pigs serve as crucial biomedical models, the application of BMI in swine and its genetic basis remain poorly explored. This study aimed to investigate the genetic architecture of pig BMI and compare two carcass-based BMI metrics (BMI-S and BMI-O) for breeding applicability. A total of 439 Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred pigs were genotyped with a 50 K SNP chip; heritability was estimated via a mixed linear model, and genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using the BLINK model. BMI-S and BMI-O exhibited moderate-to-high heritability of 0.55 and 0.47, respectively, with 17 genome-wide significant SNPs detected—including the top associated SNP rs81382440 on chromosome 4 and rs80898583 on chromosome 7. Key candidate genes (GPHN, ADAM33, KCNH8, PDCD4) and 5 SNP-trait associations validated in PigQTLdb were linked to lipid/energy metabolism and muscle development. Carcass-based BMI improved phenotypic accuracy, and our findings provide core genetic markers and a theoretical basis for molecular breeding of pig body conformation and lipid deposition traits.

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