A federal grant of US$10 million has been given to researchers to map out the pig genome in order to produce better pig breeds, Forbes magazine reported on Wednesday. The project is expected to be completed within two years at a cost of about US$20 million and will be conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign.

 

Pork producer associations from France, South Korea, the Netherlands and the UK are also contributing money to the project, said Mark Boggess, the Pork Board's director of animal science.

 

The genome work will affect all areas of pork production, said Boggess. He added that pork producers would be able to thoroughly understand the biology involved and apply suitable management, selection and nutrition programmes through the genome map.