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Reproductive productivity depend on a complex set of characteristics. The number of piglets at birth (Total number born, Litter size, TNB) and the number of alive piglets at birth (Total number born alive, NBA) are the main indicators of the reproductive productivity of sows in pig breeding. Great hopes are pinned on GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Studies) to solve the problems associated with studying the genetic architecture of reproductive traits of pigs. This paper provides an overview of international studies on SNP (Single nucleotide polymorphism) associated with TNB and NBA in pigs presented in PigQTLdb as “Genome map association”. Currently on the base of Genome map association results 306 SNPs associated with TNB (218 SNPs) and NBA (88 SNPs) have been identified and presented in the Pig QTLdb database. The results are based on research of pigs such as Large White, Yorkshire, Landrace, Berkshire, Duroc and Erhualian. The presented review shows that most SNPs found in chromosome areas where candidate genes or QTLs (Quantitative trait locus) have been identified. Further research in the given direction will allow to obtain new data that will become an impulse for creating breakthrough breeding technologies and increase the production efficiency in pig farming.

Тhe Melanocortin-4 Receptor (MC4R), a G-protein coupled receptor, is implicated in mediating the effect of leptin on food intake and energy balance. A previous candidate gene study reported an association between an MC4R polymorphism (Asp298Asn) and growth and meat productive traits of pigs. The aim of this work was to determine frequencies of the MC4R/Taq I genotypes and alleles in Danish Landrace (LD), Canadian Landrace (LC) and crossbred pigs Danish Landrace × Canadian Landrace (LD × LC) in breeding Cent "Plemzavod Jubilee" (Tyumen) Russia and to estimate their associations with some growth and meat traits. The polymorphism was identified by PCR-RFLP method. The traits studied were: Number of days to 100-kg, Average Daily Gain (ADG), Backfat Thickness (BFT), average daily Feed Intake (FI) and Length of Body (LB). In the all test groups we found a higher frequency of G allele (0.71) compared with the A allele (0.29). The results of present study suggest that the MC4R gene contributes to Days to 100 kg, ADG and BF. The heterozygous genotype AG was favorable in LD breed. The significant effects of-1.43 (LD male) and-2.81(LD female) for Days to 100 kg and of+61.17 (LD male) and +26.3 (LD female) for ADG were calculated. The homozygous genotype GG was favorable in crossbred LD × LC. The significant effects of +74.2 for ADG and-1.5 for BF were calculated. Therefore, the data support a role for the MC4R Asp298Asn polymorphism in the genetic basis of economically important traits in pigs of Russia. Further research is needed to determine the effect of this gene on growth, meat and reproduction traits in pigs of different breeds and crosses.

Industrial pig farming is associated with negative technological pressure on the bodies of pigs. Leg weakness and lameness are the sources of significant economic loss in raising pigs. Therefore, it is important to identify the predictors of limb condition. This work presents assessments of the state of limbs using indicators of growth and meat characteristics of pigs based on machine learning algorithms. We have evaluated and compared the accuracy of prediction for nine ML classification algorithms (Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbors, Artificial Neural Networks, C50Tree, Support Vector Machines, Naive Bayes, Generalized Linear Models, Boost, and Linear Discriminant Analysis) and have identified the Random Forest and K-Nearest Neighbors as the best-performing algorithms for predicting pig leg weakness using a small set of simple measurements that can be taken at an early stage of animal development. Measurements of Muscle Thickness, Back Fat amount, and Average Daily Gain were found to be significant predictors of the conformation of pig limbs. Our work demonstrates the utility and relative ease of using machine learning algorithms to assess the state of limbs in pigs based on growth rate and meat characteristics.

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One of the areas of biotechnology sunflower is the development and testing of DNA markers of important agronomic traits and in particular markers of resistance to downy mildew. Resistance of 16 Rf-lines of sunflower to the races 330 and 710 of Plasmopara halstedii has been studied. Genotyping of these lines was carried out using 9 STS-markers of three Pl-loci, Pl 5 , Pl 6 and Pl 8 , associated with the resistance of sunflower to downy mildew. Only two out of nine STS-markers, НаР2 and НаР3 (locus Pl 6), allowed us to identify the lines, which demonstrated resistance to the downy mildew under the conditions of artificial infection.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) gene (ID: 399503) in Landrace, Large White and Duroc pigs in Russia and to evaluate the impact on productive traits of pigs. Polymorphism was genotyped using PCR-RFLP method. In the course of studies we observed a different distribution of allele and genotype frequencies of different breeds. In all breeds under study all three genotypes AA, AB, BB were determined. The results of this study suggest that the LIF gene promotes the reproductive traits of pigs. The AA genotype sows compared to BB genotype analogues have better Total Number of Born (TNB) and Number Born Alive (NBA) by 1.4 and 1.3 (p<0.01) in Landrace sows, 1.3 and 0.9 (p<0.05) in Large White and 2.0 and 3.3 (p<0.001) in Duroc, respectively. The AB genotype sows exhibit intermediate values, which testifies the concentration of a favorable A allele in the pig genotype of animals contributing to the fertility. Our research revealed a positive effect of A allele and AA genotype that indicates the possibility to use this polymorphism in improving reproduction traits of sows.