Genetic characteristics of inbred Wuzhishan miniature pigs, a native Chinese breed.

The Wuzhishan miniature pig originates from Hainan Island, P. R. China, and is considered useful for medical and veterinary research due to its small size; a mature adult weights less than 25 kg. To reveal the genetic characteristics of this breed, the genetic polymorphism in 4 inbred strains was estimated using 30 microsatellite genes, multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and gene scanning. The average number of alleles at the 30 marker loci was 8.300, 4.533, 6.700, and 7.433, respectively. The polymorphism information content was 0.632, 0.507, 0.653, and 0.691, respectively. The average homozygosity in these strains was 0.537, 0.546, 0.549, and 0.520, respectively. These results indicate a relatively high degree of heterozygosity, perhaps becaquse these strains were inbred for 3 generations. Therefore, a long-term inbred breeding program should be conducted for Wuzhishan pigs to establish an experimental model.