Assessment of a new microsatellites panel for traceability in Italian inbreed pigs using parentage test

Abstract

The origin of meat and meat products can be traced by verifying the identity of an offspring from its parents’ genotypes. Although there are many microsatellite panels applicable to swine population, efficiency of parental testing decreases when the population consists of consanguineous animals. The aims of the present study were to develop a new microsatellite panel for traceability using parentage test in inbreed pig population and to assess how hybridization can influence the efficiency of parental testing. A new genotyping assay, based on 20‑microsatellite assay, was performed in 304 individuals consisting of related and unrelated animals. The results showed that the microsatellites used in this study display high level of polymorphism ensuring a parentage assignment of 100%. This genotyping panel can be a useful tool to test a ’parent‑to‑fork’ traceability system based on 20 microsatellite loci and can overcome technical limitations in inbreed population.