Frequency of Favorable Alleles for Meat Quality, Litter Size, Adaptation, and Growth Traits in Closed Nucleus Population of Philippine Native Swine (Sus philippensis var. markaduke)

The Philippine native swine (PNS) are heritage domestic animal genetic resources for food security and geo-cultural uses. Among the PNS, the markaduke is known for the "best lechon" (roast whole pork) and comminuted pork products, moderate litter size (>8), and adaptability. Its genetic property needs assessment to develop a breeding program suited for optimum production system. A total of 67 heads (17 males & 50 females) from the 4.37+0.12 generations with inbreeding coefficient of 0.1493 +0.0167 was genotyped for meat quality using seven (7) biomarkers, three (3) biomarkers for litter size, two (2) biomarkers for adaptation, and one (1) for growth trait. The results of genotyping were tested in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and chi-square statistics. Of the seven biomarkers for meat quality, the RN, CTSD, and LEPR had genotypic frequency >50% in both sexes. Remarkably, the population expresses full presence of favorable allele for RN (100% rn, p<0.05). In terms of litter size, the most prominent allele was observed in PRLR at almost equal frequencies of 0.77 in both sexes (p<0.05). For adaptation trait, the N allele for halothane gene that command for stress tolerance was observed at frequencies or 0.97 (p>0.05). The favorable allele for growth, MYOG, was observed in heterozygote only at low frequencies of 0.08, 0.14, and 0.13 for males, females, and in combined data; respectively. These molecular findings show that the closed nucleus population of markaduke carries favorable genes necessary for genetic improvement.