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Tibetan pig ( Sus scrofa domesticus )
Tibetan pig (Sus scrofa domesticus)

The Tibetan pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) is a precious native species in China. It is mainly distributed in the region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP), Gannan, Minxian, the border of Sichuan and Tibet, the Shangri-La of Diqing, and Yunnan, within forests and river valleys at an altitude of 2000-4100 meters.Thus,Tibetan pig also recognized as a rare plateau breed in the world. Due to long-term life at QTP, they have adapted to the harsh climate at high altitudes and have the characteristics of strong disease resistance, rough feeding resistance, and strong fat deposition ability. They also have thin skin, high lean meat rate, tender meat, and relatively low cholesterol content in pork. Study finding showed that Tibetan pork is rich in amino acids, trace elements, active substances and unsaturated fatty acids. Tibetan pigs primitive are generally being on pasture on year around, mainly feeding on potentilla, artemisia, alfalfa and other plants, while rarely feeding on supplementary grain in semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral areas. In grazing-bred system, Tibetan pig farming is facing many challenges, such as extensive feeding management, slow growth rate, small size, relatively low fecundity, long farming time, and low slaughter. In recent years, Tibetan pigs have been introduced to the mainland, and some areas have developed to a certain scale. Among them, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shanxi and other so on have scale developments. As a typical plateau breed, the Tibetan pig is an ideal animal model for studying high altitude adaptation in mammals.


References:

  1. 1. Li M, et al. Genomic analyses identify distinct patterns of selection in domesticated pigs and Tibetan wild boars[J]. Nature Genetic, 2013, 45(12):1431-1438. 2. Yu G, et al. The phylogenetic status of typical Chinese native pigs :analyzed by Asian and European pig mitochondrial genome sequences[J]. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 2013, 4(1):9. 3. Yang S, et al. The local origin of the Tibetan Pig and additional insights into the origin of Asian Pigs[J]. PLoS One, 2011, 6(12):e28215. 4. Gan, M. et al. High Altitude Adaptability and Meat Quality in Tibetan Pigs: A Reference for Local Pork Processing and Genetic Improvement[J]. Animals (Basel) , 2019, 9. 5. Bo Zenga et al. Gut microbiota of Tibetans and Tibetan pigs varies between high and low altitude environments[J]. Microbiological Research, 235:126447(2020).