Abstract:

Wuzhishan pig, which originated from Hainan Province, China, is one of China′s rare miniature pig breeds. It is a potential genetic resource for sustainable pig production. In addition, it can be utilized as an experimental animal for medical and veterinary research due to its small size with the mature body weight of only about 25 kg. We detected its genetic polymorphisms using 32 microsatellites distributed on 14 chromosomes. A total of 200 individuals were sampled from the nuclear herd and from an inbred herd at the Wuzhishan Pig Breeding Farm in Hainan Province and analysed by multiplex PCR and gene scanning techniques. The average numbers of alleles at the 32 marker loci were 9.410, 13.660, and 14.590 in the nuclear group, the inbred group, and the merged group, respectively. The average homozygosity was almost the same in the three groups, about 44% in each case. The polymorphism information content in the three groups was 0.708, 0.731, and 0.742, respectively. The results indicate a rich genetic polymorphism in Wuzhishan pig.