Derivation of a new lamb survival trait for implementation in the New Zealand sheep industry

Poster (2012, June)

Lambing percentage is one of the most significant factors affecting profitability on New Zealand sheep farms. Since the early 1990s, lambing percentage has increased at about 1% per year from a relatively ... [more ▼]

Lambing percentage is one of the most significant factors affecting profitability on New Zealand sheep farms. Since the early 1990s, lambing percentage has increased at about 1% per year from a relatively stable level of approximately 100%, and top performing sheep farms are now consistently achieving 150% or more. As lambing percentage increases, the proportion of ewes bearing twins and triplets increases accordingly. Lamb mortality rate in these multiples is higher than in singles, with triplets being particularly susceptible. Consequently, lamb survival has become increasingly important to the New Zealand sheep industry. Sheep Improvement Ltd (SIL, New Zealand's national sheep genetic evaluation system provided by Beef & Lamb NZ) records lamb survival to weaning but genetic improvement has been limited due to the low heritability of the trait and the current method of recording. [less ▲]

Is It Possible to Define a European Total Merit Index?

in Interbull Bulletin (2012), 44

Developing a common European bull list is an objective of the PROTEJE (PROduction Traits European Joint Evaluation) workgroup started in 2001 as an initiative of the European Holstein herdbooks. Six Total ... [more ▼]

Developing a common European bull list is an objective of the PROTEJE (PROduction Traits European Joint Evaluation) workgroup started in 2001 as an initiative of the European Holstein herdbooks. Six Total Merit Indexes were compared to define a common breeding goal across Europe. A principal component analysis was used to observe the direction of the largest common variation among the studied Total Merit Indexes. Results showed that the considered indexes had a lot in common. The first principal component explained 86% of the total variation. Based on previous researches establishing combined proofs on a European phantom scale for most traits and trait groups and using a multiple regression for this European Total Merit Index, relative emphases on production and functionality of 37% and on conformation of 26% could be established. [less ▲]

Genetic relationships between milk fatty acids and fertility of dairy cows

Conference (2011, August)

European TMI estimation

Conference given outside the academic context (2011)

Total Merit Indexes (TMI) of 6 national evaluations (France, Germany, Walloon Region of Belgium, Italy, Netherlands and Nordic countries) were available. A principal component analysis was performed on ... [more ▼]

Total Merit Indexes (TMI) of 6 national evaluations (France, Germany, Walloon Region of Belgium, Italy, Netherlands and Nordic countries) were available. A principal component analysis was performed on this data in order to assess the common direction of selection between those 6 countries. Results showed that this methodology was a good basis to define a common european TMI. [less ▲]

Is there value in maintaining small populations ? Example of the Dual-Purpose Belgian Blue breed.

in Journal of Dairy Science (2011), 94(E-suppl.1), 664

Current status of thinking on genomic selection in dairy cattle is mostly major breed centric (e.g., Holstein) and only for traditional traits (e.g., milk yields). Once you depart from this, it becomes ... [more ▼]

Current status of thinking on genomic selection in dairy cattle is mostly major breed centric (e.g., Holstein) and only for traditional traits (e.g., milk yields). Once you depart from this, it becomes obvious that different, often related, issues appear (e.g., lack of large training populations, need for expensive recording of new phenotypes). Also, there is an urgent need to rethink issues that are important for sustainability of dairy production (e.g., added value foods, animal robustness). In this context, small populations (breeds/lines) could represent a potential source of extra information to justify their maintenance. As marker densities increase, efficient dissection of different selection histories of divergent breeds or lines, potentially identifying pockets of unexploited variability will increase. A current example from the Belgian (Walloon) perspective is the Dual Purpose (DP) line of the Belgian Blue Breed (BBB), with presently around 4500 breeding females, for historical reason of which only 1500 have good pedigrees, and which is present in Belgium and northern France. Recent research, done on this line, showed its tendency to produce less saturated milk fat and to have better fertility. Results indicated that it could stay competitive in specific markets, especially because of largely increased meat value. Currently, the myostatin mutation is largely used for breeding purposes. To assess the genetic diversity of the breed, recently, over 200 genotypes (SNP50K) for nearly all breeding bulls of the last 20 years became available. HD genotypes should be available in the near future, also allowing to access selection history of this breed as being in between the 2 extreme breeds: Beef BBB (with which it shares a recent history) and Holstein-Friesian (which is related through its geographic proximity over centuries). Finally, genomic selection for DP-BBB will need to consider a single step type approach without the need of reference population and potentially relying heavily on SNP3K of cows, also with the objective to recreate relationships between animals of interest. [less ▲]

Genetic correlations among body condition score, yield and fertility in multiparous cows using random regression models

in Proceedings of the 9th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (2010, August)

Genetic correlations between body condition score (BCS) in lactation 1 to 3 and four economically important traits (days open, 305-days milk, fat, and protein yields recorded in the first 3 lactations ... [more ▼]

Genetic correlations between body condition score (BCS) in lactation 1 to 3 and four economically important traits (days open, 305-days milk, fat, and protein yields recorded in the first 3 lactations) were estimated on about 12,500 Walloon Holstein cows using 4-trait random regression models. Results indicated moderate favorable genetic correlations between BCS and days open (from -0.46 to -0.62) and suggested the use of BCS for indirect selection on fertility. However, unfavorable genetic correlations between BCS and yields (from -0.16 to -0.71) indicated that selection on BCS would have deleterious effects on milk, fat, and protein yields, especially in lactation greater than 1. [less ▲]

Heterogeneity of residuals variances of milk fatty acids in dairy cattle

in Journal of Dairy Science (2010, July), 88(E-Suppl. 2), 744

Routine genetic evaluation for milk fatty acids is under development in the Walloon Region of Belgium. The objective of this study was to test the heterogeneity of residual variances and therefore ... [more ▼]

Routine genetic evaluation for milk fatty acids is under development in the Walloon Region of Belgium. The objective of this study was to test the heterogeneity of residual variances and therefore indirectly the potential need to adjust for this heterogeneity if it exists. The residuals were computed as the difference between the observed and the estimated values using a multi-trait random regression test-day model, similar to the Walloon routine model, used for first lactation only milk yield, quantities and percentages of protein (PROT) and fat (FAT), content of saturated fatty acids in milk (g/100g of milk, SAT) and, content of mono-unsaturated fatty acids in milk (g/100g of milk, MONO). Residuals were considered homogeneous inside strata defined, among others, by weeks of lactation, by days in milk and by calendar months of test date. About 6,687,000 records were available for milk yield and for FAT and PROT parameters. For SAT and for MONO, about 184,000 records were available in this database. Means of residuals were stable and close to zero for all traits. Variances were more variable for MONO and SAT than for milk yield, for example. Daily and weekly variances tended to decrease at the end of the lactation (50%). When the variances were computed by month of test date, some variations were observed and some periods of year were more marked. In conclusion, the observed residual variances were less stable for MONO and SAT. We can conclude that introduction for heterogeneous residual variance is more important for the new traits (MONO, SAT) than it was for the old, traditional ones. [less ▲]

Feasibility of a genetic evaluation for milk fatty acids in dairy cattle

Conference (2010, July)

Recent development of equations based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectrometry for the prediction of milk fatty acid (FA) contents allows their measurement on a large scale during performance recording. The ... [more ▼]

Recent development of equations based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectrometry for the prediction of milk fatty acid (FA) contents allows their measurement on a large scale during performance recording. The objective was to show that a genetic evaluation for milk FA in dairy cattle is feasible in the Walloon region of Belgium and to report first results. Estimated breeding values (EBV) and associated reliabilities (REL) were computed using a multi-trait test-day animal model similar to the one used for the routine genetic evaluation for yield traits. Studied traits were first lactation test-day milk, fat and protein yields, fat (FAT) and protein contents, and content of saturated fatty acids in milk (g/100g of milk, SAT). More than 6,700,000 records were available for common production and content traits and 194,000 records were used for SAT. Used variance components were estimated using REML. The average SAT content was 2.79% with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.50%. A total of 1,707 Holstein bulls used in Walloon Region had REL superior to 0.49 for all studied traits. REL for SAT ranged from 0.53 to 0.99. A total of 1,217 bulls had REL superior to 0.74. SD of EBV for SAT was 0.20%. The maximum and minimum SAT EBV values were 0.89% and -0.69%, respectively. In order to have a direct measure of the part of FAT that is not due to SAT, a new trait (dSAT) was post-evaluated and defined as difference between expected SAT EBV for a given FAT EBV and the estimated EBV for SAT. This new trait can be assumed to be a direct predictor of the content of unsaturated fatty acids in fat. The interest is that this trait cannot be accurately predicted directly by MIR. The maximum and minimum EBV for dSAT for the 1,707 bulls were -0.28% and 0.24%, respectively. Based on these results, a genetic evaluation for milk fatty acids is feasible. In the bull population used recently, a genetic variability for dSAT exists and could be used to improve the milk fat composition. [less ▲]

Genetic Evaluation for Milk Fat Composition in the Walloon Region of Belgium

in Interbull Bulletin (2010), 42

Genetic evaluation for body condition score in the Walloon region of Belgium

in Interbull Bulletin (2010), 42