Knowledge on the genetic background of fat tissue accumulation is important in livestock production. Several fatness traits are considered in pig breeding improvement, most frequently backfat thickness (BFT) and intramuscular fat content (IMF).

 

However, some others are also of interest: abdominal fat weight (AFW) or percentage (AFP), and fatty acid composition (FAC). The fatness traits are related to meat quality (mainly IMF and FAC) or fattening efficiency (mainly BFT and AFW).

 

Fatness is classified as a quantitative trait with a high contribution of genetic variation. Thus, searching for DNA polymorphism associated with (or responsible for) fat accumulation is reasonable.