CONBIAND Network: Following the genetic contributions of the Iberian pigs in the American Creole breeds using microsatellites

The CONBIAND network is a consortium integrated by researchers from 19 countries of America and Europe involved in biodiversity, sustainability and conservation biology. Within this network, a working group for pigs has been constituted in order to clarify the pig colonization history. Creole pigs were originated from animals brought to America by Spanish and Portuguese explorers more than 500 years ago. They are the result of genetic drift, artificial and natural selection and migration. The main goal of this project is to characterise some pig Creole breeds and to establish their genetic relationships with Spanish breeds. Several international breeds have been added in order to determine their influence on the Creoles. We have analyzed 9 Creole breeds with 24 microsatellites. Genetic distances and genetic structure were analysed in order to establish the genetic relationships between the Creoles and the Spanish pig breeds. The results derived from this project will have a great social impact, as may lead to the official registration of those populations, which are not yet officially recognized as breeds due to a lack of genetic supporting studies, but have an unquestionable productive rule in marginal areas and in a subsistence agriculture context.