Why genomics is a pig deal
AGENOMIC study on British Lop pigs could prove a gamechanger in supporting native rare breeds. The first of its kind in the UK, the research identified unique genetic markers for lop-eared pigs, ascertained the level of their genomic inbreeding and assessed their effective breeding population size to only 40–45. Although this number is concerning, the findings, explains Tom Blunt of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), ‘will now be used to inform breeding programmes; each pig sampled for this project has been given a genomic inbreeding level, so suitable animals can be matched. Looking forward, the unique markers identified for the breed can be used to produce a practical purity test to help safeguard the breed’s integrity’.
The research has much wider implications for rare-breed conservation, because its underlying concept can be applied elsewhere: ‘The Lop project can act as a template for other pig breeds, most significantly those categorised as priority breeds on the RBST Watchlist alongside the British Lop—the Berkshire, British Landrace, Large Black, Middle White and Tamworth.’