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UDC 636.4.082

Received: May 14, 2026

Revised: May 21, 2026

Published: May 29, 2026

This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

 

The paper presents the results of studies on the fattening and meat qualities of Large White pigs of different genotypes for the melanocortin receptor gene (MC4R), as well as the biochemical parameters of blood serum. Based on the obtained data, the levels of correlations between quantitative traits were calculated. The study was conducted within the framework of Scientific Research Program No. 31 of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, “Genetic Improvement of Farm Animals, Their Reproduction and Biodiversity Conservation” (Genetics, Conservation, and Reproduction of Biological Resources in Animal Husbandry).

It was established that the biochemical parameters of blood serum (total protein content, g/L; urea concentration, mmol/L; aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, U/L; alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, U/L) in Large White pigs of Hungarian origin were within the physiological range characteristic of clinically healthy animals. Analysis of performance testing and slaughter data demonstrated that Large White pigs of Hungarian origin were characterized by relatively high fattening and meat quality traits. In terms of age at reaching 100 kg body weight, backfat thickness measured at the level of the 6th–7th thoracic vertebrae, and chilled carcass length, the animals exceeded the minimum requirements of the elite class by an average of 13.76%. A statistically significant difference between animals of Group I (MC4RAG) and Group II (MC4RAA) was found for average daily gain (41.5 g; td = 4.18), age at reaching 100 kg body weight (3.8 days; td = 2.45), backfat thickness at the level of the 6th–7th thoracic vertebrae (1.8 mm; td = 3.00), chilled carcass length (1.9 cm; td = 3.45), maximum (anterior) carcass width (2.0 cm; td = 2.46), and minimum (posterior) carcass width (1.2 cm; td = 2.30). The difference between the experimental groups according to B. Tyler’s index amounted to 17.63 points (td = 4.65). The pairwise correlation coefficients between blood serum biochemical parameters, fattening and meat quality traits of Large White pigs of Hungarian origin, as well as animals of different genotypes for the melanocortin receptor gene (MC4RAA and MC4RAG), ranged from –0.854 to +0.821. The proportion of significant correlations was 29.16%, 54.16%, and 25.00%, respectively.

 

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