Variance component analysis of quantitative trait loci for pork carcass composition and meat quality on SSC4 and SSC11.

In a previous study, QTL for carcass composition and meat quality were identified in a commercial finisher cross. The main objective of the current study was to confirm and fine map the QTL on SSC4 and SSC11 by genotyping an increased number of individuals and markers and to analyze the data using a combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis method. A modified version of the method excludes linkage disequilibrium information from the analysis, enabling the comparison of results based on linkage information only or results based on combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium information. Nine additional paternal half-sib families were genotyped for 18 markers, resulting in a total of 1,855 animals genotyped for 15 and 13 markers on SSC4 and SSC11, respectively. The QTL affecting meat color on SSC4 was confirmed, whereas the QTL affecting LM weight could not be confirmed. The combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis resulted in the identification of new significant effects for 14 traits on the 2 chromosomes. Heritabilities of the QTL effects ranged from 1.8 to 13.2%. The analysis contributed to a more accurate positioning of QTL and further characterized their phenotypic effect. However, results showed that even greater marker densities are required to take full advantage of linkage disequilibrium information and to identify haplotypes associated with favorable QTL alleles.