Modern pig breeds in Europe owe their origin to a mixture of Asian and European breeds and types. They evolved during the past two hundred years, and developed particular breed characteristics by the application of breed standards, which included specific reference to colour. DNA markers at two coat colour loci provide the potential for accurate breed assignation for wild boar, Berkshire and Tamworth breeds, and may also offer the potential to develop simple tools for the verification of the origin of pork products. The use of polymorphisms in genes determining coat colour is used to explore this potential in terms of breed identification for conservation of animal genetic resources, and product traceability for quality assurance.
