Abstract
dc:description.abstractThe Ashanti Dwarf pig, an indigenous pig breed of Ghana, like other local pigs in Africa is mainly raised under extensive production farming systems with little financial inputs by resource poor farmers who are mostly women to provide them with food, employment and an income. These indigenous pigs which are usually small, coarsely furred and normally black have been reported to be hardy and resilient to most endemic diseases in the tropics. However, despite their assumed genetic merits, they are in danger of extinction and their genetics is poorly understood. In this research, the genetic resources and biodiversities in Africa and the molecular technologies that can be adopted to utilize these biodiversities were reviewed. The genomic structure of Ghanaian local pigs: a focus on the Ashanti Dwarf pig was assessed with the Porcine 60K SNP BeadChip assay. Also, the genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium and signatures in the Ashanti Dwarf pigs were further compared with data derived from pig populations worldwide including pig populations from Africa (Busia-Kenya), European (Large Whites and Landraces) and Chinese pig (Jinhua). The haplotype block and haplotype diversity of some significant signatures of selection in the populations studied were also assessed using genotyped information extracted from gene regions of interest in the populations. Finally, low coverage depth of sequencing was performed on three Ashanti Dwarf pigs to identify some novel SNPs in gene regions of interest in the Ashanti Dwarf pig. SNPs identified were further validated with PCR-RFLP assays. Results from this study suggest high genetic diversity within the Ashanti Dwarf pig populations. Population cluster analysis performed in this study also suggests that although the African pigs (Ashanti Dwarf pig and Busia pigs) clustered close to European pigs, they may be distinct populations. Also, the candidate genes identified to be associated especially with immunity traits in this study may explain why the Ashanti Dwarf pigs like the other African pigs have been reported to be hardy and resilient.
Degree
thesis:*- Name dc:type.qualificationname
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
- Doctoral
- Grantor dc:publisher.institution
- University of Cambridge
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2022
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Aryee, Sethlina
- Advisors dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Enright, Anton
- Sargent, Carole
Subjects
dc:subject × 7Rights
dc:rightsIdentifiers
dc:identifier.*- DOI dc:identifier.doi
- https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.99936
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/353919