The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that these well conserved genes and gene pathways could also play a role in SPL, even though the productive life of sows is a measure of longevity and their reproductive performance during that time frame. Therefore, genes involved in the IGF pathway, along with genes more specific to reproductive traits, were targeted for marker development and association analyses in the evaluation of length of productive life among commercial breeding females. It was found that several markers were significantly associated with the sow survival portion or the reproductive portion of SPL. The CCR7 gene should be considered in marker-assisted selection schemes for improved sow survival, and IGFBP1 should be considered if selection pressure is warranted on reproductive traits. The inclusion of CPT1A in a marker-assisted selection scheme should improve both the sow survival and reproductive components of SPL and should therefore be strongly considered for improvement of sow productive life in commercial females.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/