Developing high-throughput molecular screening technique to detect reciprocal translocation in boars

Semen that is used in artificial insemination is routinely checked for usual quality assessment for fertility assessment, such as sperm concentration, morphology and motility. However, these assessments are not enough to detect chromosome rearrangements, such as reciprocal translocation (RT), which are known cause of infertility leading to hypoprolificacy (reduced litter size) in domestic animals, including pig. Using molecular cytogenetic tools, we have identified very high rate (6.4%) of reciprocal translocation in Australian boar stud. However, this screening are labour intensive and expensive. This project will develop diagnostic molecular tools for high throughput of screening RT.