Loss of function mutations in essential genes cause embryonic lethality in pigs

A paper produced in the frame of the H2020 project 677353 'Innovative Management of Animal GEnetic resources' Recessive lethal alleles are reducing fertility, especially in small size animal populations. Here, five relatively common recessive lethal haplotypes are reported in two commercial pig populations. This provides insight for the understanding of fertility and heterosis in livestock.This research was also funded by the STWBreed4Food Partnership, project number 14283: From sequence to phenotype: detecting deleterious variation by prediction of functionality. This study was financially supported by NWO-TTWand the Breed4Food partners Cobb Europe, CRV, Hendrix Genetics and Topigs Norsvin