Newsham Genetics® LC Announces IGF2 Breeding Solutions
Benefits Both Maternal Production Herd and Terminal Market Animals
Thursday, April 6, 2006, West Des Moines, IA
Researchers from GENTEC NV, collaborating with their North American swine genetics partner, Newsham Genetics, have discovered how to manage the IGF2 gene for enhanced reproduction in the breeding herd and desirable lean traits in market animals.
IGF2 is the first genetic marker that aids the selection of both dam and sire line traits in different directions-allowing dam line selection for the production of larger litters or the selection of a greater muscle mass in sire lines.
The IGF2 gene has two forms: 1) the positive allele that increases muscle mass, and 2) the negative allele-animals that receive this allele are less lean and demonstrate greater reproductive potential. Animals that receive the (+) allele from their sires are generally 1.5% leaner than those that receive the (-) allele. Recently, research conducted by GENTEC has also shown that parent gilts that receive the (-) allele from their sire are more productive and stay in the herd longer.
The industry has been concerned about reproductive performance while breeding for extremely lean gilts. But now Newsham Genetics can provide a breeding solution that capitalizes on the fact that the IGF2 gene paternally expressed and that boars can deliver the desirable gene to a specific product.
The management of the IGF2 genotype in the SuperMom™ female and the SuperSire™ terminal boar lines will provide positive benefits to the maternal production herd and the terminal offspring sold to market. The breeding gilts will have less muscle mass, but will have a positive benefit on reproduction. The resulting terminal pigs will be leaner, have more muscle mass, and will be more uniform.
"Additionally, the management of this marker also shows no evidence of any negative impact on growth rate or meat quality traits," explains Dr. Fields Gunsett, Vice President of Genetics & Product Development. "What we're seeing is how genetic micromanagement can make a positive impact on your bottom line."
Newsham Choice Genetics
www.newsham.com
Newsham Choice Genetics is the second largest swine genetics supplier in North America. The company is the leader of marker assisted selection in pigs; using 6,000 SNPs in discovery and selection, and offers a variety of high-performance maternal and terminal products to the swine industry. Newsham employs approximately 100 people.
