A systematic survey to identify lethal recessive variation in highly managed pig populations.
Martijn F L DerksHendrik-Jan MegensMirte BosseMarcos S LopesBarbara HarliziusMartien A M GroenenPublished in: BMC genomics (2017)
Our study shows that although lethal recessive variation is present, the frequency of these alleles is invariably low in these highly managed populations. Nevertheless, due to cumulative effects of deleterious variants, large numbers of affected offspring are produced. Furthermore, our study demonstrates the use of a large-scale commercial genetic experiment to systematically screen for 'natural knockouts' that can increase understanding of gene function.