Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics (J ANIM BREED GENET)

Publications in this journal

• Article: An integration of external information for foreign stallions into the Belgian genetic evaluation for jumping horses

  Vandenplas J, Janssens S, Buys N, Gengler N
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  ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to test the integration of external information, i.e. foreign estimated breeding values (EBV) and the associated reliabilities (REL), for stallions into the Belgian genetic evaluation for jumping horses. The Belgian model is a bivariate repeatability Best Linear Unbiased Prediction animal model only based on Belgian performances while Belgian breeders import horses from neighbouring countries. Thereby, use of external information is needed as prior to achieve more accurate EBV. Pedigree and performance data contained 101,382 horses and 712,212 performances, respectively. After conversion to the Belgian trait, external information of 98 French and 67 Dutch stallions were integrated into the Belgian evaluation. Resulting Belgian rankings of the foreign stallions were more similar to foreign rankings according to the increase of the rank correlations of at least 12%. REL of their EBV were improved of at least 2% on average. External information was partially to totally equivalent to 4 years of contemporary horses’ performances or to all the stallions’ own performances. All these results showed the interest to integrate external information into the Belgian evaluation.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 01/2013;
• Article: Measuring inbreeding and inbreeding depression on pig growth from pedigree or SNP-derived metrics

  L. Sili�o, M.C. Rodr�ıguez, A. Fern�andez, C. Barrag�an, R. Ben�ıtez, C. �Ovilo & A.I. Fern�andez
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 12/2012;
• Article: The potential of embryo transfer in a German horse‐breeding programme

  Sitzenstock F, Rathke I, Ytournel F, Simianer H
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 09/2012;
• Article: Trends of the genetic connectedness measures among Nelore beef cattle herds

  Pegolo NT, Laloë D, de Oliveira HN, Lôbo RB, Fouilloux MN
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 02/2012;
• Article: Genetic parameters for dry matter, energy and protein intake, and their relationships with performance and carcass traits in Japanese Black cattle.

  M A Hoque, M Hosono, K Suzuki
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  ABSTRACT: Genetic parameters for feed intake and performance traits of 514 bulls and carcass traits of 22 099 of their progeny, and the relationships of measures of feed intake with performance and carcass traits were estimated. Feed intake traits were dry matter intake (DMI), concentrate intake (CONI), roughage intake, ratio of roughage intake to DMI, metabolizable energy intake (MEI) and digestible crude protein intake (DCPI). Performance traits included daily gain, metabolic weight, live weight at the end of test, dry matter conversion ratio and residual feed intake. Progeny carcass traits were carcass weight, percentage of meat yield, rib eye area (REA), subcutaneous fat, marbling score, meat colour (MCS), fat colour (FCS) and meat quality grade. All the feed intake and performance traits were moderately heritable. The heritabilities for REA and MCS were moderate, and that for FCS was low, while those for the other carcass traits were high. Selection against DMI, CONI and DCPI would reduce excessive intake of feed, but would have undesirable effects on growth and most of the carcass traits. Selection against MEI would lead to improvements in feed efficiency and growth traits. Selection against DCPI would also improve feed efficiency; however, responses in growth traits would decrease. Results indicate that selection against MEI might be better than any other measures of feed intake to improve feed efficiency with simultaneous improvement in growth and most of the carcass traits.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):14-21.
• Article: A pig-human comparative RH map comprising 20 genes on pig chromosome 13q41 that harbours the ETEC F4ac receptor locus.

  J Ren, H Tang, X Yan, X Huang, B Zhang, H Ji, B Yang, D Milan, L Huang
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  ABSTRACT: The enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4ac is a major cause of diarrhoea in newborn and young pigs. The locus for the intestinal ETEC F4ac receptor (F4acR) has been mapped to pig chromosome (SSC) 13q41 with known homology to human chromosome (HSA) 3q21 and q29. However, the causative gene and mutation(s) remain unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize gene-derived markers on SSC13q41 for fine mapping of the F4acR locus, and construct a high-resolution pig-human comparative map to select positional candidate genes for F4acR. Pig-specific sequence-tagged site markers were developed for 20 genes that are located in a 6.8-Mb region on HSA3q21 and q29, and a total of 34 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in 14 of 20 markers developed. Eighteen markers were mapped to SSC13q41, while the other two markers (PLXNA1 and KLF15) were assigned to SSC13q32 and SSC7q13, respectively, by radiation hybrid mapping. This result showed that there was a small conserved segment on SSC7 corresponding to HSA3q21. A framework map comprising 18 markers on SSC13q41 was established, refining the synteny breakpoint on SSC13q41 to a region of 12.3 centiRay. The comparative radiation hybrid (RH) map revealed three interesting candidate genes for F4acR from the human genome, viz. MUC4, MUC13 and MUC20. Linkage analysis with six marker polymorphisms revealed that MUC4 had the most significant linkage with the F4acR locus.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):30-6.
• Article: The importance of haplotype length and heritability using genomic selection in dairy cattle.

  T M Villumsen, L Janss, M S Lund
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  ABSTRACT: Reliabilities for genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) were investigated by simulation for a typical dairy cattle breeding setting. Scenarios were simulated with different heritabilites (h2) and for different haplotype sizes, and seven generations with only genotypes were generated to investigate reliability of GEBV over time. A genome with 5000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) at distances of 0.1 cM and 50 quantitative trait loci (QTL) was simulated, and a Bayesian variable selection model was implemented to predict GEBV. Highest reliabilities were obtained for 10 SNP haplotypes. At optimal haplotype size, reliabilities in generation 1 without phenotypes ranged from 0.80 for h2 = 0.02 to 0.93 for h2 = 0.30, and in the seventh generation without phenotypes ranged from 0.69 for h2 = 0.02 to 0.86 for h2 = 0.30. Reliabilities of GEBV were found sufficiently high to implement dairy selection schemes without progeny testing in which case a data time-lag of two to three generations may be present. Reliabilities were also relatively high for low heritable traits, implying that genomic selection could be especially beneficial to improve the selection on, e.g. health and fertility.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):3-13.
• Article: A role of the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor in congenital sensorineural deafness and eye pigmentation in Dalmatian dogs.

  S Stritzel, A Wöhlke, O Distl
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  ABSTRACT: Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is involved in white spotting and deafness associated with lack of pigmentation in human and mice. In the present study, we employed MITF-associated markers to evaluate MITF as a candidate for canine congenital sensorineural deafness (CCSD) in Dalmatian dogs. We performed an association study using MITF flanking and intragenic markers for 88 Dalmatian dogs of different hearing and eye pigmentation status. A significant association was identified for MITF-related markers with CCSD and blue iris colour. We conclude that MITF might play a role in CCSD and blue eye colour in Dalmatian dogs.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):59-62.
• Article: It's the genotype, stupid!

  Juha Merilä
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):1-2.
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  Article: Genetic diversity of Chinese domestic goat based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence variation.

  Y-P Liu, S-X Cao, S-Y Chen, Y-G Yao, T-Z Liu
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  ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of domestic goat in China. For this purpose, we determined the sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in 72 individuals of the Yangtze River delta white goat, and reanalysed 723 published samples from 31 breeds/populations across China. All goat haplotypes were classified into four haplogroups (A-D) previously described. The phylogenetic pattern that emerged from the mtDNA control region sequence was confirmed by the analysis of the entire cytochrome b sequence of eight goats representative of the four haplogroups. It appeared that in Chinese domestic goat, haplogroups A and B were dominant and distributed in nearly all breeds/populations, while haplogroups C and D were only found in seven breeds/populations. Four breeds/populations contained all four haplogroups. When grouping the breeds/populations into five geographic groups based on their geographic distributions and ecological conditions, the southern pasturing area had the highest diversity whereas the northern farming area had the lowest diversity. 84.29% and 11.37% of the genetic variation were distributed within breeds and among breeds within the ecologically geographical areas, respectively; only 4% of genetic variation was observed among the five geographic areas. We speculate that the traditional seasonal pastoralism, the annual long-distance migrations that occurred in the past, and the commercial trade would account for the observed pattern by having favoured gene flows.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):80-9.
• Article: Estimation of (co)variance components and genetic parameters of greasy fleece weights in Muzaffarnagari sheep.

  A Mandal, F W C Neser, R Roy, P K Rout, D R Notter
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  ABSTRACT: Variance components and genetic parameters for greasy fleece weights of Muzaffarnagari sheep maintained at the Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom, Mathura, India, over a period of 29 years (1976 to 2004) were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood (REML), fitting six animal models including various combinations of maternal effects. Data on body weights at 6 (W6) and 12 months (W12) of age were also included in the study. Records of 2807 lambs descended from 160 rams and 1202 ewes were used for the study. Direct heritability estimates for fleece weight at 6 (FW6) and 12 months of age (FW12), and total fleece weights up to 1 year of age (TFW) were 0.14, 0.16 and 0.25, respectively. Maternal genetic and permanent environmental effects did not significantly influence any of the traits under study. Genetic correlations among fleece weights and body weights were obtained from multivariate analyses. Direct genetic correlations of FW6 with W6 and W12 were relatively large, ranging from 0.61 to 0.67, but only moderate genetic correlations existed between FW12 and W6 (0.39) and between FW12 and W12 (0.49). The genetic correlation between FW6 and FW12 was very high (0.95), but the corresponding phenotypic correlation was much lower (0.28). Heritability estimates for all traits were at least 0.15, indicating that there is potential for their improvement by selection. The moderate to high positive genetic correlations between fleece weights and body weights at 6 and 12 months of age suggest that some of the genetic factors that influence animal growth also influence wool growth. Thus selection to improve the body weights or fleece weights at 6 months of age will also result in genetic improvement of fleece weights at subsequent stages of growth.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 03/2009; 126(1):22-9.
• Article: The pig CART (cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript) gene and association of its microsatellite polymorphism with production traits.

  M Stachowiak, J Cieslak, A Skorczyk, J Nowakowska, I Szczerbal, M Szydlowski, M Switonski
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  ABSTRACT: The cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) gene is a candidate gene that may affect performance and body composition traits in the pig. The purpose of this study was to establish the chromosomal localization and genomic sequence of the porcine CART gene, search for polymorphism and analyse its phenotypic effect in 644 pigs representing two breeds, Polish Large White (PLW) and Polish Landrace (PL), and a synthetic line 990 (L990). The CART gene was fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-mapped to the chromosome 16q21. The 1878 bp DNA fragment covering three exons, two introns and the 5' flanking region was sequenced and analysed. A new A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at position -238 bp was found. The coding sequence was conserved between porcine and human CART genes. Previously unknown short tandem repeat polymorphism (CA)(2)(CG)(n)(CA)(n) was identified in intron 2. Three alleles 251, 253 and 259 bp were found. The 251-bp allele was predominant in all the analysed populations of pigs, whereas the 253-bp allele occurred with the lowest frequency. The statistical analysis revealed significant allelic additive effects on meat content in carcass (p < 0.05) and abdominal fat weight (p < 0.01) in PLW, and meat content in carcass (p < 0.05) and backfat thickness (p < 0.05) in PL. Our study confirmed that chromosome region harbouring the CART gene is a promising quantitative trait loci for pig production traits.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 02/2009; 126(1):37-42.
• Article: DNA polymorphism of 5' flanking region of prolactin gene and its association with litter size in sheep.

  M X Chu, X C Wang, M Jin, R Di, H Q Chen, G Q Zhu, L Fang, Y H Ma, K Li
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  ABSTRACT: A single nucleotide polymorphism of 5' flanking region of the prolactin gene was investigated in both high prolificacy breeds (Small Tail Han and Hu sheep) and low prolificacy breeds (Dorset and Suffolk sheep) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). The results indicated that two genotypes (AA and AB) were detected in Small Tail Han sheep (n = 239), only one genotype (AA) was detected in Hu (n = 40), Dorset (n = 50) and Suffolk sheep (n = 39). The mutant homozygous genotype (BB) was not detected in four sheep breeds. In Small Tail Han sheep (n = 239), the frequency of genotypes AA and AB was 0.91 and 0.09, the frequency of the A and B alleles was 0.95 and 0.05, respectively. The fitness tests showed that the Small Tail Han sheep population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Sequencing revealed a mutation (G-->T) at the position 63 bp of the 5' flanking region of prolactin gene in AB genotype compared with AA genotype in Small Tail Han sheep. The Small Tail Han ewes with AB genotype had 0.83 (p < 0.05) lambs more than those with AA genotype. These results preliminarily showed that the prolactin locus is either a major gene that influences the high prolificacy in Small Tail Han sheep or is in close linkage with such a gene.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 02/2009; 126(1):63-8.
• Article: Evaluation of FABP2 as candidate gene for a fatty acid composition QTL in porcine chromosome 8.

  J Estellé, A Mercadé, M Pérez-Enciso, R N Pena, L Silió, A Sánchez, J M Folch
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  ABSTRACT: The objective of this work was to analyse the porcine Fatty acid binding protein 2, intestinal (FABP2) gene as a candidate gene for a fatty acid composition quantitative trait loci (QTL) previously described on porcine chromosome 8 in an Iberian by Landrace F(2) cross (IBMAP). Re-sequencing of the porcine FABP2 gene in three Iberian and eight Landrace parental animals resulted in the identification of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms, all of them localized in intron 1. The polymorphism FABP2:g.412T>C, localized in intron 1, and two additional microsatellites were genotyped in the IBMAP population in order to perform an association test of the FABP2 gene and to better define the QTL position previously described. Association analyses of the FABP2:g.412T>C with the fatty acid composition traits were not significant in simple association and marker-assisted association tests, suggesting that the FABP2 region sequenced is not responsible for the QTL. However, the addition of three new markers to the pedigree allowed us to define the S0144-SW61 marker interval as the most likely QTL position, facilitating the future study of other candidate genes for this QTL.
  Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics 02/2009; 126(1):52-8.