Variability in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene in wild boars and local pig breeds in Poland

Source/description: Studies on the variability in the MC1R gene sequence in pigs made it possible to identify many polymorphic sites, which may be responsible for variations in the coat pigmentation in individual breeds. Moreover, utilising the SNP identification scheme in the MC1R gene described by Kijas et al., Koutsogiannouli et al. carried out investigations on the utilisation of a genetic test (PCR-RFLP) for the identification of interspecific crosses. It was concluded, on the basis of their experiments, that restrictive analysis employing the BspHI enzymes may be useful for genetic differentiation of Large White pigs from wild boars as well as interspecific cross-breeds (Large White x wild boar).