Improving feed efficiency is vital for the swine industry to enhance global competitiveness, reduce the environmental impact, and increase the sustainability and social acceptability of Alberta and Canadian pig production. The overall goal of this project is to genetically improve pig feed efficiency through enhanced genomic estimated breeding values. This project is in collaboration with the end user, Genesus Inc., and will use existing data resources and tissue samples on over 3,000 Duroc boars. The supporting objectives include: 1) incorporate whole genome sequences, 80K SNP genotypes and the component trait phenotypes of feed efficiency into genome enhanced estimated breeding values,
2) utilize whole genome sequence data to predict functional variants for feed efficiency and its component traits, 3) develop imputations for 80K to whole genome sequence, and 4) identify promising SNPs associated with feed efficiency and its component traits. Genome enhanced estimated breeding values provide significant opportunity to increase the rate of genetic improvement for the traits that are difficult and/or expensive to measure, such as feed efficiency.