Polymorphisms of ESR and FSH-β Genes and Their Association with Litter Sizes of Saba Pigs

Based on the detection of polymorphisms of estrogen(ESR) and follicle stimulating hormone β subunit(FSH-β) genes of 762 Saba pigs,the effects of the two genes on litter sizes were analyzed.The results showed that the frequencies of genotype BB and allele B on ESR gene and genotype AA and allele A on FSH-β gene were the highest in Saba pigs.In the first parity,the total number born(TNB) and the number born alive(NBA) of genotype AA of ESR gene and genotype BB of FSH-β gene were higher than the other two genotypes(P0.05 or P0.01),and showed significantly additive effects(P0.05).In the later parities,the litter sizes of genotype AB of ESR gene were the highest(P0.05),and showed significant dominance effects(P0.05 or P0.01),however,it had no significant differences between different genotypes on FSH-β gene(P0.05).The TNB and NBA of the combined genotype ESR AA and FSH-β BB(AABB) were higher than those of other genotypes(P0.05 or P0.01) in first parity,the TNB and NBA of the combined AAAB were the highest among all genotypes(P0.05 or P0.01)in later parities.The association of ESR and FSH-β gene with litter sizes were confirmed in the present study,however,the effects of ESR gene on the litter size of Saba pigs were obvious different with the previous results.