Genetics parameters of productive traits on native guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) from the southern highlands of Ecuador

The importance of conserving local animal genetic resources of zootechnical interest is currently a global priority due to their socio-cultural, environmental, economic, and risk connotations. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) globally proposes the management of these resources through technical, political, and logistical operations to characterize, use, develop, conserve, and ensure access and benefit sharing. The description and estimation of genetic parameters are important to evaluate and revalue local genetics, as in the case of the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), which is a fundamental part of Andean food and culture. This research aimed to estimate the phenotypic differences and genetic parameters of traits of productive interest in two populations of native guinea pigs from southern Ecuador. Statistically, one-way ANOVA was applied together with Duncan’s test (P<0.05); for genetic parameters, a family structure of paternal half-siblings was considered, and the (co)variance components were estimated by the restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) with the procedure for mixed models (PROC MIXED). Records of 373 offspring from the Azuay and Cañar subpopulations were used. The provenance factor affected all productive variables related to weight. Heritability and repeatability for preweaning traits were high, accompanied by a positive correlation; postweaning heritability showed the same behavior. The results suggest the possibility of working based on selection to achieve better productive indexes.