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The classical genes are a member of immunoglobulin gene family that is involved in the presentation of antigen peptides. They are located in every nucleated cell surface, except in neurons and trophoblasts. They are synthesized in infected cell (viral infection), binding to viral proteins and giving rise to Swine Leucocyte Antigen (SLA) I- antigen complex. In the study, the SLA class I gene of Nigerian pigs with pigs from Kenya along with archived sequences from Asia and American pigs available on Genbank to gain a better understanding of matrilineal origin of Nigerian and Kenyan pigs. Gain insight into demographic distribution, their domestication and adaptation were compared. The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from 90 pigs (60 Nigerian pigs (NP) and 30 pigs from Kenya) using Invitrogen Kit, quantified by using Nanodrop, and amplified by using Polymerase Chain Reaction. The expected bands were purified and sequenced for SLA class I. The sequences were aligned and phylogenetic tree was analyzed by using MEGA 6. BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tools) was conducted in NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The sequences of Nigerian pigs and Kenya pigs were compared with published pig data in GenBank. Neighboring Joint (NJ) tree constructed with sequences from Nigeria, Kenya and other pigs from GenBank revealed that some of the NP clustered together with Asian pigs at the middle of the tree while some clustered just above the Kenyan below the tree and the outgroup homosapien stood out. The result from the calculation of total number of segregating sites gave the negative Tajima's D value (-0.181) while the non-significant difference (p > 0.05) obtained from the result showed that the null hypothesis was not rejected. In conclusion, there is genetic difference between the Nigerian and Kenyan pigs based on the phylogeny tree constructed. There is an excess of low frequency polymorphisms relative to population size. This may be as a result of evolutionary forces during course of adaptation in tropical countries in Africa.

Pigs play a major role in socioeconomic life of the people; it serves as a source of income for rural population and fulfill important role in culture and food security. Fifty-one weaners were randomly selected at 9, 17 and 25 weeks of age for analysis. Blood from the jugular vein of the weaners was taken to the laboratory for analysis. The leaukocyte parameters used for this study were White blood cell count (WBC), Lymphocyte (LYM) count, Neutrophil (NEU) count, Eosinophil (EOS) and Monocyte (MON) count) and Platelet (PLT) count. Data collected on these leaukocyte parameters were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) while the means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The results showed that at 9 weeks of age, compared with the female hybrid, the male hybrid had higher PCV, NEU and EOS (33.12% ± 2.73%, 31.00% ± 3.37% and 0.38% ± 0.18% respectively) values, while the female NIP had higher WBC, LYM and MON (24.55 ± 1.09 × 103/μl, 56.00% ± 3.24% and 0.50% ± 0.50%) values respectively. At 17 weeks of age, the male hybrid had higher WBC and NEU (32.18 ± 1.92 × 103/μl and 32.38% ± 3.56%) values while the female had higher PCV, LYM, EOS and MON (42.50% ± 1.50%, 63.00% ± 5.0%, 2.50% ± 2.50% and 4.50% ± 1.50%) values. At 25 weeks of age, the female hybrid had higher values in all the parameters with the exception of NEU and MON where male had higher values. These ages can be used as criteria for selection for immunocompetence in pigs.

This work investigated on the presence of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in Nigerian Indigenous pig (NIP), its hybrid and backcross using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screening method on the extracted DNA and haematological screening from these pig bloods. Pig populations selected from Southwestern Nigeria were used for this study. ASFV infected blood samples collected from the University of Ibadan were used as positive control. White blood cell count was significantly highest in hybrid (31.27 ± 1.79 × 103/μl) and higher in backcross (27.71 ± 2.01 × 103/μl) compared with NIP (18.16 ± 3.01 × 103/μl) for NIP, and while Lymphocyte count was found to be highest in hybrid (86.17% ± 1.95%) and lowest in backcross (56.23% ± 1.17%). The PAS primers (PAS1F: 5’-ATG GAT ACC GAG GGA ATA GC-3’ and PAS2R: 5’-CTT ACC GAT GAA AAT GAT AC-3’) amplified the 278 bp of ASFV in the DNA extracted from NIP, its hybrids and backcross. In conclusion, this study has shown that NIP, its hybrid and backcross have ASFV in their genome in an ASF-prone environment and thus confirming the continuous prevalence of ASF in Southwest Nigeria. This is an on-going research where the severity and virulence of the virus has to be measured.

This work investigated the presence of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) in Nigerian Indigenous Pig (NIP) using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) screening method on the extracted DNA from the pig blood. NIP population selected from south western Nigeria were used for this study. ASFV infected blood samples collected from the University of Ibadan were used as positive control. Adiscrete and specific band was observed in both NIP and the infected samples show the presence of ASFV in NIP. The bands were of the expected size 278 base pairs (bp). The implication of this finding is that NIPs have domiciled ASFV without showing any clinical symptoms.