Evaluation of genetic effects on the fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat and backfat of the endangered Angler Saddleback pig

The Angler Saddleback (AS) pig is an endangered breed that originates from Germany. To date there is a lack of scientific research into the meat quality of this local breed, particularly with regard to fatty acid composition. Due to the limited availability of AS piglets, a fattening experiment was conducted with 58 individuals as a pilot study. To meet this slower-growing breed's lower nutritional demands, the pigs were fed a diet rich in silage and low in concentrate feed. In connection with the high backfat (BF) thickness ( M =37.8 mm), increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids were observed in both the intramuscular fat (IMF; M =46.6 % ) and the subcutaneous fat ( M =48.6 % ) as compared to other pig breeds. The saturated fatty acids amounts were rather low in intramuscular fat ( M =33.6 % ) and in BF ( M =38.7 % ), as was to be expected for a fatty pig breed. Furthermore, the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the BF was very low ( M =12.7 % ), despite the high proportion of grass–clover silage in the diet. These results, along with some unexpected correlations among the target variables, might be due to a genetic effect of the AS pig. Therefore, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were performed using SNP-array data from the 58 pigs. Based on this, 38 significant variants related to pork quality traits were identified. The significant loci were distributed over 10 chromosomes and further underlined the influence of genetics. Given the limited sample size for genomic analysis, these findings can only provide an initial insight. However, the results clearly indicate that examining the fatty acid composition of local pig breeds in more detail could provide valuable information to enhance selection for pork quality.