Methods for determining the coat color genotype of a pig

Abstract

Coat color is important to the pig breeding industry for a number of reasons. It is therefore desirable to develop populations of pigs which will breed true for coat color. However, establishing such populations would be time-consuming and costly using traditional test mating programs. It is therefore desirable to determine the coat color genotype of individual pigs. The inventors have shown that the KIT gene in pigs is involved with coat color determination. Specifically, the inventors have discovered that the difference between the I, I,, and i alleles of the coat color determining gene is duplication of at least part of the KIT gene in the I and I,alleles. Further, the inventors have discovered that the difference between the I and I,alleles is that, although both I and I,have a duplication in the KIT gene, only I and not I,exhibits a deletion in one of the duplicated regions. These discoveries have allowed the inventors to develop methods for distinguishing between the alleles I, I,, and i, thereby determining the genotype of individual pigs with respect to coat color. In accordance with the present invention, there are provided methods for determining the genotype of individual pigs with respect to coat color and kits for use in carrying out such methods.