Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026
10:16
Accurate and Phenol Free DNA Sexing of Day 30 Porcine Embryos by PCR
Published on: February 14, 2016
Genetic Determination of Maternal Behaviour in Pigs
Nicole Maffezzini1,2, Negar Khayatzadeh3, Simon Turner1
1School of Veterinary Medicine and Biosciences, Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, UK.
Summary
Maternal behavior in sows, including aggression, is heritable. Genetic selection can improve stockperson safety and sow welfare, but piglet survival must be balanced in breeding goals.
Area of Science:
- Animal Science
- Behavioral Genetics
- Quantitative Genetics
Background:
- Maternal behavior in sows is crucial for piglet welfare and human-animal interactions, especially in free-farrowing systems.
- Understanding the genetic basis of sow behavior is essential for improving animal welfare and farm safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate maternal behavior in Swiss Landrace sows.
- To estimate quantitative genetic parameters for maternal behavior traits, including aggressiveness towards humans and vocalization patterns.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral tests (Piglet Handling Test, Farmers' Aggressiveness Score) and observations were conducted on 451-705 sows.
- Variance components were estimated using Bayesian generalized linear mixed models with pedigree, genomic, or combined relationship matrices.
- Repeatability and heritability (h²) were calculated for various maternal behavior traits.
Main Results:
- All assessed maternal behavior traits were repeatable, with repeatabilities ranging from 0.18 to 0.66.
- Aggressiveness towards humans (Piglet Handling Test: h²=0.44; Farmers' Aggressiveness Score: h²=0.24) and vocalizing before lying down (h²=0.36) were found to be heritable.
- An unfavorable genetic correlation was observed between aggressiveness and piglet survival traits.
Conclusions:
- Human-directed aggression in sows is heritable, suggesting potential for genetic selection to improve stockperson safety and sow welfare.
- Balanced breeding indices incorporating piglet survival are necessary to ensure simultaneous progress in both aggression and survival traits.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
02:59Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
Among all the organelles in an animal cell, only mitochondria have their own independent genomes. Animal mitochondrial DNA is a double-stranded, closed-circular molecule with around 20,000 base pairs. Mitochondrial DNA is unique in that one of its two strands, the heavy, or H, -strand is guanine rich, whereas the complementary strand is cytosine rich and called the light, or L, -strand. Compared to nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA has a very low percentage of non-coding regions and is marked by...
01:23Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs
Behavior genetics explores how genetic inheritance influences human behavior. It focuses on how genes, passed from parents to offspring, contribute to the development of behavioral traits and tendencies. This branch of genetics seeks to understand the complex interplay between inherited genetic factors and environmental influences in shaping our behaviors.
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
02:27Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
01:43Incomplete Dominance
Gregor Mendel's work (1822 - 1884) was primarily focused on pea plants. Through his initial experiments, he determined that every gene in a diploid cell has two variants called alleles inherited from each parent. He suggested that amongst these two alleles, one allele is dominant in character and the other recessive. The combination of alleles determines the phenotype of a gene in an organism.
00:55Parental Care
Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.