Effects of the growth hormone gene genotypes on the traits of pigs productive longevity

The research aimed at the productive longevity of sows is of increasing interest. The aim of this study is to assess the prospects of the GH gene as a genetic marker of productive longevity of pigs based on the study of associative links between the polymorphism of the G316A gene and the traits of productive longevity. The studies were carried out on Large White sows (LW, n=280) and Landrace sows (L, n=360) bred in the conditions of a breeding farm in Russia. The genotypes of GH gene were determined by PCR-PDRP method using restriction endonuclease FokI. As a result, the allele frequencies A and G in sows of LW were 0.46 and 0.54; the genotypes of AA, AG, and GG were 21.8, 47.8, and 30.45, respectively. In sows L, the allele frequencies of A and G were 0.25 and 0.75; the genotypes of AA, AG and GG were 7.5, 35.0 and 57.5%, respectively. For the whole productive period, sows LW genotype GH_AG had TNB by 9.7 (p≤0.05), NBA by 8.6 (p≤0.05) and a tendency to a smaller number of farrows in comparison with analogues of homozygous genotypes. The sows L genotype GH_AG had less TNB for the whole productive period by 5.5 (p≤0.1) compared to sows of homozygous genotypes. The results obtained on the purebred population of Large White and Landrace pigs showed the potential of GH gene polymorphism as a genetic marker associated with the productive longevity of pigs. The further research will allow us to study the effects of GH polymorphism and its possible application in breeding programs in details.