Association Between Backfat Thickness at 28 Weeks Old and Production Traits of Primiparous Landrace Sows Raised Under Tropical Conditions

Abstract Backfat thickness could reflex energy reserve of the female pigs that is required for their productivity, especially gilts that might be selected for the replacements. Therefore, phenotypic and genetic correlations between backfat thickness (BF) and production traits were estimated and considered for the possibility of using BF at pre-selective stage as an early indicator for productivity of the sow. Pedigree information, BF and body weight (BW) at 28 weeks old, age at first farrowing (AFF), transformed proportion of piglet loss at birth (tPL) and transformed weaning to first service interval (tWSI) of 806 primiparous Landrace sows were used to estimate the variance components by restricted maximum likelihood procedure with an average information algorithm for multivariate analysis. Genetic correlation between BF and BW was 0.70 ± 0.13. Both BF and BW had negative genetic correlation with AFF, but not tWSI. Unfortunately, genetic correlation estimates between tPL and other traits was unclear due to high standard error. The genetic correlation between AFF and tWSI was 0.78 ± 0.36. Besides 19.35% of sires, 26.34% of dams and 25.81% of sows had genetic ability for BF, BW, AFF and WSI above the population means. The genetic association between BF, BW, AFF and tWSI indicated the feasibility of using selection index to improve BF and BW at pre-selective stage and reduce AFF and tWSI of replacement gilt simultaneously. However, the estimation of genetic correlation between PL and other traits should be repeated in a larger population.

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Genetic and phenotypic relationships between conformation and production traits in Ayrshire heifers

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s0003356100007261 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 335-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. A. Mrode ◽

G. J. T. Swanson

Keyword(s):

Maximum Likelihood ◽

Genetic Correlation ◽

Milk Fat ◽

Genetic Parameters ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Production Traits ◽

Linear Type ◽

Maximum Likelihood Procedure ◽

Type Traits ◽

The Relationship

AbstractFirst lactation records for production traits (milk, fat and protein yields) and 17 linear type traits for 7169 Ayrshire heifers were analysed to estimate genetic parameters for type traits and to examine the relationship between type and production traits. A multivariate restricted maximum likelihood procedure fitting a sire model with sire relationships included was used for all analyses.Heritabilities for production traits were approximately 0·3 and genetic correlations among them were high (>0·84). The estimates of heritabilities for type traits were mainly low to moderate ranging from 0·04 to 0·42. Angularity (0·80), beef shape (0·49), foot angle (0·53) and stature (0·46) had higher heritabilities. Generally phenotypic correlations among type traits were lower than the genetic correlations. The highest negative genetic correlation was between rear legs side and rear legs rear (-0·95) and the highest positive correlation between chest width and beef shape (0·93).Genetic correlations between type and production were low to moderate and were similar for milk, fat and protein yields. The genetic correlations between the production traits and chest width, udder depth and beef shape were negative but were positive between production and angularity, rear udder width and teat placement side.

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The incorporation of fertility indices in genetic improvement programmes

BSAP Occasional Publication ◽

10.1017/s0263967x00033711 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 237-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

J.E. Pryce ◽

R.F. Veerkamp

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variance ◽

Selection Index ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Live Weight ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Phenotypic Variance ◽

Production Traits ◽

Genetic Progress ◽

Detection Rates ◽

Days Open

AbstractIn recent years there has been considerable genetic progress in milk production. Yet, increases in yield have been accompanied by an apparent lengthening of calving intervals, days open, days to first heat and a decline in conception rates, which appears to be both at the genetic and phenotypic level. Fertility has a high relative economic value compared to production traits such as protein, making it attractive to include in a breeding programme. To do this there needs to be genetic variance in fertility. Measures of fertility calculated from service dates have a small genetic compared to phenotypic variance, hence heritability estimates are small, typically less than 5%, although coefficients of genetic variance are comparable to those of production traits. Heritabilities of commencement of luteal activity determined using progesterone profiles are generally higher, and have been reported as being from 0.16 to 0.28, which could be because of a more precise quantification of genetic variance, as management influences such as delaying insemination and heat detection rates are excluded. However, it might not be the use of progesterone profiles alone, as days to first heat observed by farm staff has a heritability of 0.15. The most efficient way to breed for improved fertility is to construct a selection index using the genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates of all traits of interest in addition to their respective economic values. Index traits for fertility could include measures such as calving interval, days open, days to first service, or days to first heat but there may also be alternative measures. Examples include traits related to energy balance, such as live weight and condition score (change), both of which have higher heritabilities than fertility measures and have genetic correlations of sufficient magnitude to make genetic progress by using them feasible. To redress the balance between fertility and production, some countries already publish genetic evaluations of fertility including: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

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Genetic parameters of production and reproduetive traits in on a farm tested Danish Large White and Landrace swine in Greece

Archives Animal Breeding ◽

10.5194/aab-43-287-2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 287-298

Author(s):

J. Bizelis ◽

A. Kominakis ◽

E. Rogdakis ◽

F. Georgadopoulou

Keyword(s):

Maximum Likelihood ◽

Genetic Correlation ◽

Genetic Parameters ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Production Traits ◽

Likelihood Methods ◽

Large White ◽

Reproduction Traits ◽

Maximum Likelihood Methods ◽

Genetic And Phenotypic Correlations

Abstract. Production and reproduetive traits in Danish Landrace (LD) and Large White (LW) swine were analysed by restricted maximum likelihood methods to obtain heritabilities as well as genetic and phenotypic correlations. Production traits were: age, backfat thickness (BT), muscle depth (MD) and the ratio BT/MD, adjusted to Standard bodyweight of 85 kg. Reproduction traits were: number of pigs born (NB) and number of pigs weaned (NW) per sow and parity. Heritabilities for age, BT, MD and BT/MD were 0.60, 0.44, 0.51 and 0.42 for LD and 0.36, 0.44, 0.37 and 0.45 for LW, respectively. Genetic correlations between age and BT were −0.22 in LD and – 0.44 in LW. The genetic correlation between age and MD was close to zero in both breeds. Genetic correlation between BT and MD were −0.36 and −0.25 in LD and LW, respectively. Heritabilities for NB were 0.25 in LD and 0.13 in LW while heritabilities for NW were close to zero in both breeds. Genetic correlation between NB and NW was 0.46 and 0.70 in LD and LW, respectively.

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Estimation of Genetic Parameters for Pork Quality, Novel Carcass, Primal-Cut and Growth Traits in Duroc Pigs

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10050779 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 779 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hannah E. Willson ◽

Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira ◽

Allan P. Schinckel ◽

Daniela Grossi ◽

Luiz F. Brito

Keyword(s):

Genetic Parameters ◽

Growth Traits ◽

Low Cost ◽

Selection Index ◽

Carcass Traits ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Pork Quality ◽

Production Traits ◽

Genetic Progress ◽

Selection Indexes

More recently, swine breeding programs have aimed to include pork quality and novel carcass (e.g., specific primal cuts such as the Boston butt or belly that are not commonly used in selection indexes) and belly traits together with growth, feed efficiency and carcass leanness in the selection indexes of terminal-sire lines, in order to efficiently produce pork with improved quality at a low cost to consumers. In this context, the success of genetic selection for such traits relies on accurate estimates of heritabilities and genetic correlations between traits. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for 39 traits in Duroc pigs (three growth, eight conventional carcass (commonly measured production traits; e.g., backfat depth), 10 pork quality and 18 novel carcass traits). Phenotypic measurements were collected on 2583 purebred Duroc gilts, and the variance components were estimated using both univariate and bivariate models and REML procedures. Moderate to high heritability estimates were found for most traits, while genetic correlations tended to be low to moderate overall. Moderate to high genetic correlations were found between growth, primal-cuts and novel carcass traits, while low to moderate correlations were found between pork quality and growth and carcass traits. Some genetic antagonisms were observed, but they are of low to moderate magnitude. This indicates that genetic progress can be achieved for all traits when using an adequate selection index.

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Quantitative genetic studies on wool yellowing in Corriedale sheep. 1. Wool yellowing susceptibility and wool production traits—genetic parameter estimates

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/a94141 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 49 (8) ◽

pp. 1195 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. V. Benavides ◽

A. P. Maher ◽

M. J. Young ◽

P. R. Beatson ◽

T. C. Reid

Keyword(s):

Selection Index ◽

Genetic Parameter ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Fibre Diameter ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Production Traits ◽

Correlated Responses ◽

Percentage Yield ◽

Fleece Weight ◽

Average Information

The potential for the reduction of wool yellowing susceptibility (YPC) in Corriedale sheep via selection was examined. The heritabilities of YPC and greasy fleece weight (GFW) and clean fleece weight (CFW), yield percentage (Yield), mean fibre diameter (MFD), and subjective greasy wool colour assessment (Visual), and phenotypic and genetic correlations among these traits were estimated from records on 1492 progeny of 53 sires of a Corriedale flock by using restricted maximum likelihood procedures using an average information algorithm. The heritability of YPC was 0·27 ± 0·06. Genetic correlations between YPC and GFW, CFW, Yield, MFD, and Visual were 0·20 ± 0·14, 0·11 ± 0·14, –0·15 ± 0·13, 0·24 ± 0·14, and 0·95 ± 0·06, respectively. Phenotypic correlations were low between these traits and YPC. Visual had a heritability of 0·30 ± 0·06 and medium-high genetic correlations with all traits, except CFW. Heritability estimates of GFW, CFW, Yield, and MFD were 0·55 ± 0·07, 0·52 ± 0·07, 0·51 ± 0·07, and 0·52 ± 0·07, respectively. The expected correlated responses to selection against YPC are likely to cause reductions in CFW and MFD. Correlated responses from the reduction of Visual are predicted to be greater for all production traits than those from the reduction of YPC. Responses in YPC are predicted to be slightly higher when selection is on Visual (–0·21 score/year) than when selection is on YPC itself (–0·19 score/year). A selection index, including CFW, MFD, and YPC as aggregate breeding and breeding objective traits, calculated at I = +3·26CFW – 0·14MFD + 0·03YPC, predicted a YPC increase, worsening the problem.

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Are breech strike, dags and breech wrinkle genetically the same trait in crutched, uncrutched and mulesed Merino sheep?

Animal Production Science ◽

10.1071/an18461 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 59 (10) ◽

pp. 1777

Author(s):

J. C. Greeff ◽

L. J. E. Karlsson ◽

A. C. Schlink

Keyword(s):

Genetic Correlation ◽

Standard Error ◽

Lower Risk ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

High Standard ◽

Breeding Value ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Merino Sheep ◽

Skin Wrinkles ◽

Indicator Traits

Breech strike is caused by the infestation of maggots from Lucilia cuprina on the skin of susceptible sheep. Crutching and mulesing modify the potential expression of breech strike, because crutched and mulesed sheep have a lower risk of being struck than uncrutched sheep. The inheritance of and genetic correlations among breech strike from birth to hogget shearing, and dags (breech soiling) and skin wrinkles scored at yearling age were estimated in unmulesed and crutched, unmulesed and uncrutched, and in mulesed and uncrutched Merino sheep to determine whether these traits were genetically the same under these three husbandry systems. The heritability estimates of breech strike in uncrutched, crutched and mulesed sheep were very similar (0.11 ± 0.02, 0.09 ± 0.02 and 0.08 ± 0.05 respectively). Breech strike in uncrutched sheep is genetically strongly correlated with breech strike in crutched sheep (0.80 ± 0.16). The genetic correlation between breech strike in uncrutched and in mulesed sheep was high (0.98 ± 0.40), but the high standard error makes this estimate unreliable. Dags and wrinkles are genetically moderately to strongly correlated with breech strike, which confirms that they are indicator traits for breech strike. Dags in uncrutched sheep was genetically strongly correlated with dags in mulesed sheep (0.84 ± 0.11). Breech wrinkle in uncrutched and crutched sheep, and tail wrinkle in mulesed sheep were not genetically strongly correlated with each other, as the correlations varied between zero and 0.48 (±0.18). The key outcome from this study indicates that all breech strike, wrinkle and dag data in mulesed, crutched or uncrutched flocks may be used in future to estimate a breeding value directly for breech strike.

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Genetic evaluation of maternal behaviour and temperament in Australian sheep

Animal Production Science ◽

10.1071/an14945 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. 767 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D. J. Brown ◽

N. M. Fogarty ◽

C. L. Iker ◽

D. M. Ferguson ◽

D. Blache ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Relationships ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Genetic Evaluation ◽

Pedigree Information ◽

Maternal Behaviour ◽

Production Traits ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Combined Analysis ◽

Heritability Estimates ◽

Behaviour Score

The temperament of ewes and maternal behaviour at lambing has been implicated as contributing factors to lamb survival. Some 14 054 records of maternal behaviour score (MBS, 1 = good, 5 = poor) were collected at lamb tagging from 32 breeds of sheep over several years in a variety of environments. Records for two objectively scored temperament traits, flight time from a weighing crate (FT) and agitation score in an isolation box test (IBT) were available on 19 151 and 17 159 animals, respectively. These data were pooled from three sources, which included research and commercial ram breeding flocks. The combined data were also split into three subsets based on breed groups (Merino, Maternal and Terminal) for analyses. Records of weights and number of lambs weaned (NLW), as well as pedigree information was available from the national genetic evaluation database. The heritability estimates from the combined analyses were 0.20 ± 0.02 for MBS, 0.18 ± 0.02 for FT and 0.26 ± 0.02 for IBT, with a repeatability of 0.24 ± 0.01 for MBS. There were some small differences between the breed groups in the heritability estimates. The genetic correlations between FT and MBS were negative (favourable) and consistent across the datasets (–0.47 ± 0.12, combined analysis). The genetic correlations between IBT and MBS were positive (favourable) but not significant (0.12 ± 0.11, combined analysis). The genetic correlations between IBT and FT were also favourable, but small and generally not significant. There were small favourable genetic correlations between MBS and various bodyweights (–0.17 ± 0.07, yearling) and NLW (–0.25 ± 0.07). However, there were no significant genetic relationships between the temperament and production traits. The moderate heritability and repeatability of MBS indicate maternal behaviour could be improved by selection, and that it could be a useful additional trait in breeding programs for improved reproduction.

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Heritability of advertisement call properties of the Japanese quail

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.202116 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

M. Sezer ◽

A. Koçak

Keyword(s):

Genetic Correlation ◽

Japanese Quail ◽

Spectral Properties ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Repeated Measurements ◽

Advertisement Call ◽

The Third ◽

Temporal Properties ◽

Maximum Likelihood Procedure ◽

Interval Lengths

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate genetic variances and covariances among features of the male Japanese quail advertisement call. Duration of the first, second and third syllable, the length of interval 1 (between the first and the second syllable), interval 2 (between the second and the third syllable) and damping (extension of the third syllable) were measured as temporal properties of the call. Spectral properties were peak frequencies of each syllable and the damping component. In this study, 1730 calls were recorded from 488 male Japanese quail. The restricted maximum likelihood procedure for repeated measurements was applied to estimate (co)variance components and genetic parameters for the examined traits. Heritability estimates of call parameters of the male Japanese quail ranged from low to high values (0.04-0.65) and they were generally higher for temporal properties than for spectral properties. Among the temporal properties of the call, the highest genetic correlation was between the first and the second syllable (0.96±0.251) while the lowest genetic correlation was between the first and the third syllable (0.03±0.231). Significant genetic correlations were generally high and positive among peak frequencies of the syllables. Despite the lack of apparent pattern, interval lengths tended to have positive correlation with spectral properties of the call, but the correlation of syllable lengths with spectral properties of the call was negative.

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Estimation of Genetic Parameters and Correlation between Yearling Ultrasound Measurements and Carcass Traits in Hanwoo Cattle

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11051425 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1425

Author(s):

Masoumeh Naserkheil ◽

Deuk-Hwan Lee ◽

Hong-Sik Kong ◽

Jiyeon Seong ◽

Hossein Mehrban

Keyword(s):

Genetic Correlation ◽

Genetic Parameters ◽

Carcass Traits ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Backfat Thickness ◽

Marbling Score ◽

Muscle Area ◽

Eye Muscle ◽

Ultrasound Measurements ◽

Heritability Estimates

Genetic parameters have a significant role in designing a breeding program and are required to evaluate economically important traits. The objective of this study was to estimate heritability and genetic correlation between yearling ultrasound measurements, such as backfat thickness (UBFT), eye muscle area (UEMA), intramuscular fat content (UIMF), and carcass traits, such as backfat thickness (BFT), carcass weight (CW), eye muscle area (EMA), marbling score (MS) at approximately 24 months of age, as well as yearling weight (YW) in Hanwoo bulls (15,796) and steers (5682). The (co) variance components were estimated using a multi-trait animal model. Moderate to high heritability estimates were obtained and were 0.42, 0.50, 0.56, and 0.59 for CW, EMA, BFT, and MS, respectively. Heritability estimates for yearling measurements of YW, UEMA, UBFT, and UIMF were 0.31, 0.32, 0.30, and 0.19, respectively. Favorable and strong genetic correlations were observed between UIMF and MS (0.78), UBFT and BFT (0.63), and UEMA and EMA (0.65). Moreover, the estimated genetic correlation between YW and CW was high (0.84) and relatively moderate between YW and EMA (0.43). These results suggest that genetic improvement can be achieved for carcass traits when using yearling ultrasound measurements as selection criteria in ongoing Hanwoo breeding programs.

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Impact of including the cause of missing records on genetic evaluations for growth in commercial pigs

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab226 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mary Kate Hollifield ◽

Daniela Lourenco ◽

Shogo Tsuruta ◽

Matias Bermann ◽

Jeremy T Howard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Correlation ◽

Linear Model ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Pedigree Information ◽

Linear Regression Method ◽

Classical Models ◽

Group Sex ◽

Genetic Evaluations ◽

Pearson Correlations

Abstract It is of interest to evaluate crossbred pigs for hot carcass weight (HCW) and birth weight (BW); however, obtaining a HCW record is dependent on livability (LIV) and retained tag (RT). The purpose of this study is to analyze how HCW evaluations are affected when herd removal and missing identification are included in the model and examine if accounting for the reasons for missing traits improves the accuracy of predicting breeding values. Pedigree information was available for 1,965,077 purebred and crossbred animals. Records for 503,716 commercial three-way crossbred terminal animals from 2014 to 2019 were provided by Smithfield Premium Genetics. Two pedigree-based models were compared; model 1 (M1) was a threshold-linear model with all four traits (BW, HCW, RT, and LIV), and model 2 (M2) was a linear model including only BW and HCW. The fixed effects used in the model were contemporary group, sex, age at harvest (for HCW only), and dam parity. The random effects included direct additive genetic and random litter effects. Accuracy, dispersion, bias, and Pearson correlations were estimated using the linear regression method. The heritabilities were 0.11, 0.07, 0.02, and 0.04 for BW, HCW, RT, and LIV, respectively, with standard errors less than 0.01. No difference was observed in heritabilities or accuracies for BW and HCW between M1 and M2. Accuracies were 0.33, 0.37, 0.19, and 0.23 for BW, HCW, RT, and LIV respectively. The genetic correlation between BW and RT was 0.34 ± 0.03, and between BW and LIV was 0.56 ± 0.03. Similarly, the genetic correlation between HCW and RT was 0.26 ± 0.04, and between HCW and LIV was 0.09 ± 0.05, respectively. The positive and moderate genetic correlations between BW and other traits imply a heavier BW resulted in a higher probability of surviving to harvest. Genetic correlations between HCW and other traits were lower due to the large quantity of missing records. Despite the heritable and correlated aspects of RT and LIV, results imply no major differences between M1 and M2; hence, it is unnecessary to include these traits in classical models for BW and HCW.

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