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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
Backcrossing can be used as a tool to introduce new alleles into a population. Having detected an allele of interest in a non-commercial (donor) line, backcrossing methods introduce the allele into a commercial (recipient) population whilst minimising the contribution of the less superior donor genome. Many alleles linked to the desired donor allele are incorporated into the recipient line by a phenomenon called linkage drag. Loci in the region of the target locus may trace back to a common ancestor and become identical by descent (IBD). This leads to a loss of diversity around the target locus. The linkage drag and contributions from ancestral recipient populations mean that the backcross population suffers genetic lag for commercial traits. This study aims to investigate the effect of population size and number of backcross generations on genetic lag, linkage drag and IBD around a target allele reducing back fat found in the Chinese Meishan breed when backcrossed to a commercial Large White population.