Association of porcine growth hormone gene with growth performance in “Zovawk”: A hill pig of Mizoram, India

Abstract

In Mizoram, majority of local population are non-vegetarian and pork is the choice of meat. There is very high demand for the meat of Mizoram local pig “Zovawk” because of its deliciousness. The porcine growth hormone (GH) gene is considered to be one of the most important candidate genes that can influence porcine performance traits because of its crucial function in growth and metabolism. The study was undertaken to find association between growth hormone gene variants and growth rate in zovawk. The PCR-RFLP digested product revealed three genotypes in Mizo local pig population. The genotype AA was found predominantly (0.45) as compare to the other genotypes AB and BB in the population. The frequency of A and B alleles were 0.60 and 0.40 in the population. The different genotypes did not show any significant effect on the growth performance at different age groups in the population.