Livestock variation of linked microsatellite markers in diverse swine breeds

A panel of nine framework microsatellites (MS) linked to the Calcium Release Channel (CRC) locus on swine chromosome 6 (SSC6) was developed from the consensus genetic map. MS were screened across groups of unrelated animals from Yorkshire, Hampshire, Duroc, Landrace and Meishan swine breeds. Unique MS alleles for Yorkshire, Duroc, Landrace and Meishan breeds, and statistically significant (P < .05) associations between breeds and allele frequencies were found for each MS. Although breed marker heterozygosities ranged from 0.0 (S0035 in Duroc) to 0.92 (S0087 in Meishan), Correspondence Analysis identified MS alleles uniquely associated with either the Meishan breed, western breeds or alleles common to all breeds. Furthermore, an overall marker heterozygosity of < 0.70 demonstrates the need for multiple MS panels to accommodate reduced within-breed differences for identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL), marker assisted selection (MAS) programs or parental identification in commercial breeds.