ASSOCIATIONS OF GH GENE VARIANTS WITH PERFORMANCE TRAITS IN F2 GENERATIONS OF EUROPEAN WILD BOAR, PIETRAIN AND MEISHAN PIGS

The role of the porcine GH gene was investigated in 292 F-2 animals of mating Wild Boar x Pietrain and in 310 F-2 animals of mating Meishan x Pietrain. Forty-three traits of fattening, carcass composition, meat quality and stress resistance were recorded. For the analysis of asso ciations between GH gene variants and quantitative traits, two restric tion fragment length polymorphisms were examined. In the Meishan x Pie train family eight traits related to fatness were significantly associ ated with GK genotypes, while in the Wild Boar x Pietrain family no si gnificant associations were found. In the Meishan x Pietrain cross, th e GK locus explained 11.7% to 17.7% of the total phenotypic variance i n the F-2 population. The possibility of multiple alleles at the GH lo cus is discussed. Based on these results, we conclude that the GH locu s should be further investigated in commercial breeds to determine its suitability for use in marker-assisted selection programmes.