Claw health and feed efficiency as new selection criteria in the Czech Holstein cattle Krupová Z., Wolfová M., Krupa E., Přibyl J., Zavadilová L.

The objective of this study was to calculate economic weights for ten current breeding objective traits and for four new traits characterising claw health and feed efficiency in Czech Holstein cattle and to investigate the impact of different selection indices on the genetic responses for these traits. Economic weights were estimated using a bio-economic model, while applying actual (2017) and predicted (2025) production and economic circumstances. For the actual situation, the economic weights of claw disease incidence were –100.1 € per case, and those of daily residual feed intake in cows, breeding heifers, and fattened animals were –79.37, –37.16, and –6.33 €/kg dry matter intake per day, respectively. In the predicted situation, the marginal economic weights for claw disease and feed efficiency traits increased on average by 38% and 20%, respectively. The new traits, claw disease incidence and daily residual feed intake, were gradually added to the 17 current Holstein selection index traits to improve the new traits. Constructing a comprehensive index with 21 traits and applying the general principles of the selection index theory, a favourable annual genetic selection response was obtained for the new traits (–0.008 cases of claw disease incidence and –0.006 kg of daily residual feed intake across all cattle categories), keeping the annual selection response of the most important current breeding objective traits at a satisfactory level (e.g., 73 kg of milk yield per lactation, 0.016% of milk fat). Claw health and feed efficiency should be defined as new breeding objectives and new selection index traits of local dairy population.

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Udder and Claw-Related Health Traits in Selection of Czech Holstein Cows

Annals of Animal Science ◽

10.2478/aoas-2019-0037 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 647-661

Author(s):

Zuzana Krupová ◽

Ludmila Zavadilová ◽

Marie Wolfová ◽

Emil Krupa ◽

Eva Kašná ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Selection Criteria ◽

Selection Index ◽

Genetic Selection ◽

Selection Response ◽

Clinical Mastitis ◽

Holstein Cows ◽

Breeding Objective ◽

Economic Weights ◽

The Impact ◽

Selection Of

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the implementation of new health traits into the breeding objective and selection criteria for Czech Holstein cows on the genetic selection response in the breeding objective traits. Incidence of overall claw diseases was included into the current breeding objective for cows (11 traits together). Three traits that indicated claw health (incidence of claw diseases overall and infectious and non-infectious claw diseases) and incidence of clinical mastitis were successively added to the current selection criteria in a cow selection index (a maximum of 19 traits). Selection responses in the breeding objective traits were estimated by applying the general principles of the selection index theory. The required genetic variances for the new traits, the economic weights for all breeding objective traits and the genetic correlations among the selection index traits were estimated within this study. The marginal economic weights, which were calculated for two-year-old cows by applying a bioeconomic model with implemented gene flow, were -193 and -168 € per case for clinical mastitis and overall claw disease incidence, respectively. Using the comprehensive selection index with 19 traits, the reduction in the incidence of both udder and claw diseases was calculated to be 0.004 cases per cow per year. At the same time, a more favourable genetic selection response was obtained for other functional traits, e.g., +0.020% for cow conception rate and +0.010 years for productive life of cow (which represented the profit of 67 € and 367 € per herd and per year, respectively) when compared to the current index. Based on this study, a direct selection of cows for claw and udder health is nowadays recommended to improve the health status of herds and economics in production systems.

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Effects of early weaning on growth, feed efficiency and carcass traits in Shorthorn cattle

Animal Production Science ◽

10.1071/an09153 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 315 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M. L. Wolcott ◽

H.-U. Graser ◽

D. J. Johnston

Keyword(s):

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Carcass Traits ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Carcass Composition ◽

Early Weaning ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Muscle Area ◽

Eye Muscle ◽

The Impact

This study aimed to examine the impact of early weaning on residual feed intake, and other production and carcass traits, in a group of cattle subjected to early or conventional weaning treatments, but otherwise managed as contemporaries. Shorthorn (n = 140) calves were randomly allocated by sex and sire to early and conventional weaning treatments. Early weaned animals (n = 69) were weaned at an average of 123 days of age and 145 kg liveweight, while conventionally weaned steers and heifers (n = 71) were 259 days old at weaning and 273 kg. Following conventional weaning, animals were managed as contemporaries through backgrounding, and entered feedlot finishing at a mean age of 353 and 408 days for heifers and steers, respectively, for finishing and feed intake testing. At the conclusion of feed intake testing hip height was measured, and animals were ultrasound scanned to assess fat depth, eye muscle area and percent intramuscular fat. Early weaned animals were significantly lighter (P < 0.001) than their conventionally weaned contemporaries, when weighed at conventional weaning. The weight difference observed at conventional weaning of 19.4 kg between treatment groups persisted throughout the experiment, with significant (P < 0.05) differences of 17.1, 15.6 and 15.8 kg at feedlot entry, and the start and end of the feed intake test period, respectively. Weaning treatment also approached significance for daily feed intake (P = 0.06), with early weaned animals tending to eat less than their conventionally weaned contemporaries (daily feed intake = 11.6 and 12.0 kg, respectively). Weaning treat\ment did not significantly affect feed efficiency whether measured as residual feed intake (P = 0.64) or feed conversion ratio (P = 0.27). None of the other traits measured were significantly affected by weaning treatment. These data showed that early weaning, as implemented for this experiment, resulted in animals that were lighter than their conventionally weaned contemporaries through backgrounding and finishing. Weaning treatment did not, however, influence feed efficiency or the post-weaning growth and carcass composition traits measured for this experiment.

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Genetic correlations between female fertility and postweaning growth and feed efficiency traits in multibreed beef cattle

Canadian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1139/cjas-2015-0175 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 96 (3) ◽

pp. 448-455 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Y. Mu ◽

G. Vander Voort ◽

M.K. Abo-Ismail ◽

R. Ventura ◽

J. Jamrozik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Beef Cattle ◽

Genetic Correlation ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Genetic Relationships ◽

Selection Index ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Gestation Length ◽

Fertility Traits

With selection in beef cattle now incorporating feed efficiency, knowing the relationship with other traits is needed. Genetic relationships were estimated with an animal model in ASReml with a three-generation pedigree inclusive of 2882 animals. Multibreed data from two Ontario beef research farms with fertility traits were available on 1366 females and postweaning traits, including feed efficiency on 1297 individuals. Estimates of heritability for fertility traits were low to moderate ranging from 0.03 ± 0.01 for pregnancy rate to 0.21 ± 0.02 for gestation length, and postweaning traits were moderate to high with feed conversion ratio at 0.22 ± 0.06 to mid-metabolic weight at 0.89 ± 0.01. Both dry matter intake and mid-metabolic weight were genetically correlated with most fertility traits from −0.52 to 0.34. The genetic correlation between average daily gain and days to calving was moderately negative (–0.33 ± 0.16) as was residual feed intake with days to calving (–0.34 ± 0.17). Bigger cows with more feed intake and faster growth were more fertile, and residual feed intake had an unfavorable genetic correlation with days to calving, indicating that programs to select for feed efficiency should include fertility simultaneously in a selection index.

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Effects of Incorporating Dry Matter Intake and Residual Feed Intake into a Selection Index for Dairy Cattle Using Deterministic Modeling

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11041157 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1157

Author(s):

Kerry Houlahan ◽

Flavio S. Schenkel ◽

Dagnachew Hailemariam ◽

Jan Lassen ◽

Morten Kargo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Selection Pressure ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Selection Index ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Dry Matter Intake ◽

Direct Selection ◽

Response To Selection ◽

Selection For

The inclusion of feed efficiency in the breeding goal for dairy cattle has been discussed for many years. The effects of incorporating feed efficiency into a selection index were assessed by indirect selection (dry matter intake) and direct selection (residual feed intake) using deterministic modeling. Both traits were investigated in three ways: (1) restricting the trait genetic gain to zero, (2) applying negative selection pressure, and (3) applying positive selection pressure. Changes in response to selection from economic and genetic gain perspectives were used to evaluate the impact of including feed efficiency with direct or indirect selection in an index. Improving feed efficiency through direct selection on residual feed intake was the best scenario analyzed, with the highest overall economic response including favorable responses to selection for production and feed efficiency. Over time, the response to selection is cumulative, with the potential for animals to reduce consumption by 0.16 kg to 2.7 kg of dry matter per day while maintaining production. As the selection pressure increased on residual feed intake, the response to selection for production, health, and fertility traits and body condition score became increasingly less favorable. This work provides insight into the potential long-term effects of selecting for feed efficiency as residual feed intake.

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RAPID COMMUNICATION: Residual feed intake in beef cattle is associated with differences in protein turnover and nutrient transporters in ruminal epithelium

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz080 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (5) ◽

pp. 2181-2187

Author(s):

Ahmed A Elolimy ◽

Emad Abdel-Hamied ◽

Liangyu Hu ◽

Joshua C McCann ◽

Daniel W Shike ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Beef Cattle ◽

Protein Degradation ◽

Insulin Signaling ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Protein Turnover ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽

Ruminal Epithelium

Abstract Residual feed intake (RFI) is a widely used measure of feed efficiency in cattle. Although the precise biologic mechanisms associated with improved feed efficiency are not well-known, most-efficient steers (i.e., with low RFI coefficient) downregulate abundance of proteins controlling protein degradation in skeletal muscle. Whether cellular mechanisms controlling protein turnover in ruminal tissue differ by RFI classification is unknown. The aim was to investigate associations between RFI and signaling through the mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) and ubiquitin-proteasome pathways in ruminal epithelium. One hundred and forty-nine Red Angus cattle were allocated to 3 contemporary groups according to sex and herd origin. Animals were offered a finishing diet for 70 d to calculate the RFI coefficient for each. Within each group, the 2 most-efficient (n = 6) and least-efficient animals (n = 6) were selected. Compared with least-efficient animals, the most-efficient animals consumed less feed (P < 0.05; 18.36 vs. 23.39 kg/d DMI). At day 70, plasma samples were collected for insulin concentration analysis. Ruminal epithelium was collected immediately after slaughter to determine abundance and phosphorylation status of 29 proteins associated with MTOR, ubiquitin-proteasome, insulin signaling, and glucose and amino acid transport. Among the proteins involved in cellular protein synthesis, most-efficient animals had lower (P ≤ 0.05) abundance of MTOR, p-MTOR, RPS6KB1, EIF2A, EEF2K, AKT1, and RPS6KB1, whereas MAPK3 tended (P = 0.07) to be lower. In contrast, abundance of p-EEF2K, p-EEF2K:EEF2K, and p-EIF2A:EIF2A in most-efficient animals was greater (P ≤ 0.05). Among proteins catalyzing steps required for protein degradation, the abundance of UBA1, NEDD4, and STUB1 was lower (P ≤ 0.05) and MDM2 tended (P = 0.06) to be lower in most-efficient cattle. Plasma insulin and ruminal epithelium insulin signaling proteins did not differ (P > 0.05) between RFI groups. However, abundance of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter SLC2A4 and the amino acid transporters SLC1A3 and SLC1A5 also was lower (P ≤ 0.05) in most-efficient cattle. Overall, the data indicate that differences in signaling mechanisms controlling protein turnover and nutrient transport in ruminal epithelium are components of feed efficiency in beef cattle.

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146 Survey of residual feed intake in Katahdin and Texel lambs in a feedlot environment

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz397.177 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 98 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 75-76

Author(s):

Camren l Maierle ◽

Andrew R Weaver ◽

Eugene Felton ◽

Scott P Greiner ◽

Scott A Bowdridge

Keyword(s):

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Large Scale ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Production Traits ◽

Meaningful Improvement ◽

Average Intake ◽

Test Population ◽

Feeding Trials ◽

Genetic Evaluations

Abstract Residual feed intake (RFI) is quickly becoming the preferred measurement of efficiency in many species due to its inherent independence of most other important production traits. Making meaningful improvement in feed efficiency of sheep will require a consistent methodology to accurately identify efficient individuals. Due to difficulty in measuring this trait efforts must be made to incorporate efficiency data in large-scale genetic evaluations. The aim of this study was to evaluate lambs in a feedlot with large-scale genetic evaluations for feed efficiency calculated by residual feed intake (RFI) utilizing a Growsafe™ system. RFI was calculated by subtracting expected intake from actual intake. Expected intake was determined by regressing metabolic body size of mid-test weight. Regression determined ADG on actual intake for individuals in the population. Texel (n = 58) and Katahdin (n = 118) lambs were placed in a feedlot and fed in separate feeding trials, a complete pellet ad libitum as the sole source of nutrition. In this environment Texel and Katahdin lambs had expected ADG values (0.27 kg/day, 0.32 kg/day respectively) and actual intake data (2154.17 g/day, 1909.33 g/day respectively. After a period of adaptation, Texel average intake was determined over a period of 27 consecutive days and used to calculate individual RFI within the test population. Observable ranges of RFI (-0.62 – +0.62) were seen in the Texel lambs. At the start of the Katahdin trial lambs were separated by sex and FEC treatment. After a period of adaptation, Katahdin average intake was determined over a period of 42 consecutive days and used to calculate individual RFI within the test population. Observable ranges of RFI (-0.53 – +0.50) were seen in the Katahdin lambs as well. In both feeding trials RFI appeared to be normally distributed. Use of this technology may be useful in identifying superior individuals for feed efficiency.

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Genetic parameters and breed differences for feed efficiency, growth, and body composition traits of young beef bulls

Canadian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4141/a03-085 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 84 (2) ◽

pp. 177-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 124

Author(s):

F. S. Schenkel ◽

S. P. Miller ◽

J. W. Wilton

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Genetic Correlation ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Backfat Thickness ◽

Daily Weight Gain ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Beef Bulls

Genetic associations between feed efficiency, growth, and live ultrasound measured body composition traits were studied in purebred beef bulls of six breeds in Ontario bull test stations from 1991 to 2000. Feed traits included average daily feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and residual feed intake [feed intake adjusted for production alone (RFIp) or production and backfat thickness (RFIb)]. Growth traits were average daily weight gain (ADG), mid-test metabolic weight (MW), hip height (HH), and scrotal circumference (SC). Body composition traits included ultrasound backfat thickness (BF), longissimus muscle area (LMA), and predicted percentage of intramuscular fat (IFAT). Bulls were measured every 28 d for weight and individual feed intake, and at the end of test for ultrasound body composition traits. Number of records per trait ranged from 2284 (FI) to 13 319 (ADG). Fixed effects of test group, breed and end of test age (within breed), and random effects of animal and herd of origin were modeled using REML bivariate analyses for all traits. Heritability estimates were moderate for all traits (0.30 to 0.55), except for IFAT (0.14). The genetic correlation between RFIp and RFIb was high (0.99) within breeds, but breeds ranked differently with respect to RFIp and RFIb. Genetic correlations of RFIb with ADG and backfat thickness were essentially zero, which indicate that selection on residual feed intake could be implemented to reduce feed intake and improve feed conversion without compromising growth or changing levels of subcutaneous fat. Key words: Central test, genetic correlation, heritability, residual feed intake

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Is it useful to define residual feed intake as a trait in animal breeding programs?

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea02105 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 405 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

J. H. J. van der Werf

Keyword(s):

Feed Intake ◽

Production Efficiency ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Selection Response ◽

Random Regression ◽

Biological Efficiency ◽

Multiple Trait ◽

Selection Indices ◽

Feed Utilisation ◽

Definition Of

Residual feed intake is a linear function of feed intake, production and maintenance of liveweight, and as such is an attractive characteristic to use to represent production efficiency. The phenotypic and genetic parameters of residual feed intake can be written as a function of its constituent traits. Moreover, selection indices containing the constituent traits are equivalent with an index that includes residual feed intake. Therefore, definition of the term residual feed intake may be useful to interpret variation in production efficiency, but it does not help in obtaining a better selection response than selection on constituent traits alone. In fact, multiple trait genetic evaluation of constituent traits rather than residual feed intake is likely to be more accurate as this more appropriately accommodates different models for the constituent traits and missing data. For residual feed intake to reflect true biological efficiency in growing animals, it is important that feed intake and liveweight are accurately measured. Accounting for growth and body composition would significantly help in revealing between-animal variation in feed utilisation. Random regression models can be helpful in indicating variation in feed efficiency over the growth trajectory.

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Spectral analysis of feeding patterns of steers divergent in residual feed intake

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea08021 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 48 (7) ◽

pp. 843 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Robin Dobos ◽

Robert Herd

Keyword(s):

Spectral Analysis ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Efficiency ◽

Feeding Behaviour ◽

Feeding Rate ◽

Residual Feed Intake ◽

Selection Line ◽

Feeding Patterns ◽

Time Spent Feeding ◽

Efficient Selection

Spectral analysis was used to quantify differences in feeding patterns of Angus steers genetically divergent in residual feed intake (RFI). Forty-two low RFI (more efficient) and 28 high RFI (less efficient) selection line steers were fed a feedlot diet through electronic feeders for 72 days. Mean (±s.e.) daily feed intake was 11.9 ± 0.076 and 12.7 ± 0.095 kg dry matter/day over the 72-day feeding period for low and high RFI steers, respectively. The high RFI steers exhibited different temporal cycles to the low RFI steers in daily feed intake and time spent feeding. However, patterns of number of eating sessions, feeding rate, the time spent eating and the number of eating sessions were similar. Further analysis of daily (24 h) feeding behaviour is required to help improve our understanding of the association between feeding behaviour and feed efficiency.

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