Department of Animal Sciences research and reviews: poultry and swine

Skeletal muscle collagen organization may be associated with proteoglycan expression / Sandra G. Velleman -- Influence of adult body weight and egg weight on hatching time in selected and random bred control lines of turkeys / K. E. Nestor and D. O. Noble -- Effect of crossing a line selected for increased shank width with two commercial sire lines on performance and walking ability of turkeys / Karl E. Nestor and John W. Anderson -- The energy used for maintenance each day by broiler chickens / David Latshaw and Matthew Toussant -- Variation at microsatellite loci in the large white, Yorkshire, and Hampshire breeds of swine / S. L. Kacirek, K. M. Irvin, P. I. Dimsoski, M. E. Davis, and H. C. Hines -- The estimation of maternal and individual heterosis in Yorkshire, large white, and Hampshire swine and their crosses / M. J. Barhorst, K. M. Irvin, S. J. Moeller, and S. M. Neal -- Investigation of the estrogen receptor gene and its association with reproductive tract traits in swine / B. Isler, K. M. Irvin, and S. M. Neal -- Effects of exogenous testosterone on follicular responsiveness to gonadotrophins during the luteal phase of the estrous cycle in gilts / M. B. Cunningham and W. F. Pope -- Evaluation of the further-processing quality of ham muscles from Hampshire hogs / C. L. Knipe, D. L. Meeker, B. D. Paxton, S. J. Moeller, K. M. Irvin, D. M. Wulf, and R. C. Emnett -- Frequency and effects of the napole gene in the U.S. pork industry / D. L. Meeker, S. J. Moeller, K. M. Irvin, D. M. Wulf, C. L. Knipe, and R. C. Emnet

Genetic characterization of the Spanish Trotter horse breed using microsatellite markers

To assist in selection schemes we carried out the first genetic characterization of the Spanish Trotter horse (Trotador Español). We used 16 microsatellite markers to genotype 40 unrelated Spanish trotters, 25 native Balearic horses (11 Menorquina and 14 Mallorquina horses) and 32 Andalusian horses. The observed heterozygosity for the Spanish Trotters was 0.647 ± 0.037 and the expected heterozygosity was 0.696 ± 0.026 while the average number of alleles per locus was 6.0 ± 0.341, these values being similar to the data published for other horse breeds. We also tried to establish the importance of the Mallorquina and Menorquina breeds in the present Spanish Trotter population. Only 9% of the total genetic variability could be attributed to differences between breeds (mean F ST = 0.09 ± 0.010). Recent migration rates were confirmed the low recent genetic relationship between the Balearic breeds and Spanish Trotters, indicating that the genetic background of the present Spanish Trotter population is not based on the native Balearic horse population