Poster Presentation IXth International Conference on Boar Semen Preservation 2019

The influence of heterozygosity on the productive characteristics of boars and their longevity (#5.5)

Grigoriy Serdyuk 1 , Yuriy Ivanov 1 , Andrey Nechaev 2 , Georgiy Nikitin 2 , Anatoly Stekolnikov 2 , Kirill Plemyashov 2 , Polina Anipchenko 2
  1. Russian Research Institute of Farm Animal Genetics and Breeding — Branch of the L.K. Ernst Federal Science Center for Animal Husbandry, Pushkin , Saint-Petersburg, Russia
  2. St. Petersburg State Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Saint- Petersburg, Saint- Petersburg City, Russia

The aim of this research was the development of genetic methods that enhance the efficiency of pig breeding. The research was carried out in the pig farm of the Leningrad region. The whole boar population (n = 33) is typed for 40 antigenic factors of blood groups belonging to 9 genetic systems (loci). According to their heterozygosity, the animals were divided into 3 experimental groups: with a heterozygosity level from 0 to 0.40 (group I), from 0.41 to 0.60 (group II) and from 0.61 to 1.00 (group III). The following indicators were studied: ejaculate volume, concentration, sperm activity, the number of sperm doses obtained from one ejaculate, the fertilizing ability, the duration of use.

Comparing the productivity of boars in terms of heterozygosity, it is noteworthy that all the main indicators of sperm production were highest in animals of the 3rd group with a heterozygosity level from 0.61 to 1.00, and lowest in boars of the 1st group with a level of heterozygosity from 0 to 0.40.

In particular, boars in the 3rd group had a 59 ml higher volume of the ejaculate compared with the 1st group (difference between the mean ejaculate volumes, p˂0.05). Sperm concentration in boar ejaculates was slightly lower in group 1 than group 3. This is a natural phenomenon, since the indicator of the volume of ejaculate is in inverse correlation with the indicator of the concentration of spermatozoa in the ejaculate. Sperm progressive motility in the ejaculates was 4 % higher in the 3rd group, than the average of all boars (p˂0.05). The indicator of the duration of using boars also significantly increased with an increase in the level of heterozygosity (from the 1st to the 3rd group). Thus, animals of the 3rd group were used longer than animals of the 1st group for an average of 6 months (p˂0.05). The most obvious indicator is the number of spermatozoa delivered from one ejaculate. This indicator also increased in boars along with an increase in their heterozygosity.