Genome scan was used to identify chromosomal regions and genes that control quantitative trait loci (QTL) of economic importance using 1129 animals from F1 and F2 populations obtained from crosses between Meishan and commercial Dutch breeds (Large White and Landrace). Animals were genotyped for molecular markers covering the entire genome. The chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14 and 19 were studied for intramuscular fat (IMF, %) and backfat thickness (BT, mm) and the chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 13, 17 and 19 for body weight gain (BWG, g/day) from 25 to 90 kg of live weight. QTL analyses using Bayesian methodology were applied to genetic model combining the marker-linked QTL, Finite Polygenic (FPM) and Infinite Polygenic (IPM) effects. The summaries of estimated parameters were based on Marginal posterior distributions obtained by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. In general, the results indicated one QTL for BT, independent of the prior. It was not possible to detect QTL for IMF or BWG probably due to non-informative markers or to the absence of QTL segregating in the studied chromosomes. This study suggested the advantage of using a combination of genetic models to analyze experimental data instead of fitting only the polygenic or the oligogenic model.
Bayesian method; MCMC analysis; QTL detection
