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Mancin E, Gomez Proto G, Tuliozi B, Schiavo G, Bovo S, Fontanesi L, Sartori C, Mantovani R. Uncovering genetic parameters and environmental influences on fertility, milk production, and quality in autochthonous Reggiana cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:956-977. [PMID: 37709043 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-23035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Reggiana is a local cattle breed from northern Italy known for its rusticity and profitability, due to the production of branded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. To ensure the persistence of such profitability in the long term, an adequate breeding program is required. To this aim, in the present study we estimate the genetic parameters of the main productive and reproductive traits, and we evaluate the effect of genotype by environment interaction (GxE) on these traits using 2 environmental covariates: (1) productivity and (2) temperature-humidity index (THI). Milk, fat, protein, and casein yield were considered as daily production traits, whereas protein, fat, casein percentage, casein index, and somatic cell score were considered as milk quality traits. Finally, reproductive traits such as the number of inseminations, days open, calving interval, and calving-to-first-insemination interval were evaluated. Reggiana cattle produce an average of 19 kg of milk per day with 3.7% fat and 3.4% protein content and have excellent fertility parameters. Compared with other breeds, they have slightly lower heritability for production and quality for production traits (e.g., 0.12 [0.09; 0.15] for milk yield), but similar heritability for fertility traits. Milk, protein, and fat daily yields are highly correlated but negatively correlated with the percentage of protein, fat, and casein, whereas fertility traits have an unfavorable genetic correlation with daily production traits. When considering productivity, a consistent amount of variability due to GxE was observed for all daily production traits, somatic cell count, and casein index. A modest amount of GxE was observed for fertility parameters, while the percentage of solid content showed almost no GxE effect. A similar situation occurred when considering the THI, but no GxE interaction was observed for reproduction traits. In conclusion, this study provides useful information for the implementation of accurate selection plans in this local breed, accounting for environmental plasticity measured through the consistent GxE interaction observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Mancin
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy.
| | - G Gomez Proto
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - B Tuliozi
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - G Schiavo
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - S Bovo
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - L Fontanesi
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Division of Animal Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy
| | - C Sartori
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - R Mantovani
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
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Atrian-Afiani F, Gao H, Joezy-Shekalgorabi S, Madsen P, Aminafshar M, Ali S, Jensen J. Genotype by climate zone interactions for fertility, somatic cell score, and production in Iranian Holsteins. J Dairy Sci 2021; 104:12994-13007. [PMID: 34531053 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-20084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate genetic variation and genotype by environment (G × E) interactions for fertility (including age at first calving and calving interval), somatic cell score (SCS), and milk production traits for Iranian Holsteins. Different environments were defined based on the climatic zones (cold, semi-cold, and moderate) and considering the herd location. Data were collected between 2003 and 2018 by the National Animal Breeding Center of Iran (Karaj). Variance and covariance components and genetic correlations were estimated using 2 different models, which were analyzed using Bayesian methods. For both models, performance of traits in each climate were considered as different traits. Fertility traits were analyzed using a trivariate model. Furthermore, SCS and production traits were analyzed using trivariate random regression models (records in different climate zones considered as different traits). For the fertility traits, the largest estimates of heritability were observed in cold climate. Fertility performance was always better in cold environment. Genetic correlations between climatic zones ranged from 0.85 to 0.94. For daily measurements of SCS and production traits, heritability ranged from 0.031 to 0.037 and 0.069 to 0.209, respectively. Genetic variances were the highest in the semi-cold and moderate climates for the SCS and production traits, respectively. Furthermore, across the studied climates, 305-d genetic correlation ranged from 0.756 to 0.884 for SCS and from 0.925 to 0.957 for the production traits. The structure of genetic correlation within each climate indicated a negative correlation between early and late lactation for SCS, especially in the cold climate and for milk production in the moderate climate. For fat percentage, in all climatic zones, the lowest genetic correlations were observed between early and mid-lactation. In addition, for protein production in the cold climate, a negative correlation was observed between early and late lactation. Results indicated heterogeneous variance components for all the studied traits across various climatic zones. Estimated genetic correlations for SCS revealed that the genetic expression of animals may vary by climatic zone. Results indicated the existence of G × E interaction due to the climatic condition, only for SCS. Therefore, in Iranian Holsteins, the effect of G × E interactions should not be neglected, especially for SCS, as different sires might be optimal for use in different climatic zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzad Atrian-Afiani
- Department of Animal Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1477893855, Iran; Center for Quantitative Genetic and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | - Hongding Gao
- Center for Quantitative Genetic and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | | | - Per Madsen
- Center for Quantitative Genetic and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | - Mehdi Aminafshar
- Department of Animal Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1477893855, Iran
| | - Sadeghi Ali
- Department of Animal Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, 1477893855, Iran
| | - Just Jensen
- Center for Quantitative Genetic and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
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Mulim HA, Pinto LFB, Valloto AA, Pedrosa VB. Genotype by environment interaction for somatic cell score in Holstein cattle of southern Brazil via reaction norms. Anim Biosci 2020; 34:499-505. [PMID: 32777892 PMCID: PMC7961275 DOI: 10.5713/ajas.20.0031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic behavior of a population of Holstein cattle in response to the variation of environmental temperature by analyzing the effects of genotype by environment interaction (GEI) through reaction norms for the somatic cell score (SCS). Methods Data was collected for 67,206 primiparous cows from the database of the Paraná Holstein Breeders Association in Brazil, with the aim of evaluating the temperature effect, considered as an environmental variable, distinguished under six gradients, with the variation range found being 17°C to 19.5°C, over the region. A reaction norm model was adopted utilizing the fourth order under the Legendre polynomials, using the mixed models of analysis by the restricted maximum likelihood method by the WOMBAT software. Additionally, the genetic behavior of the 15 most representative bulls was assessed, in response to the changes in the temperature gradient. Results A mean score of 2.66 and a heritability variation from 0.17 to 0.23 was found in the regional temperature increase. The correlation between the environmental gradients proved to be higher than 0.80. Distinctive genetic behaviors were observed according to the increase in regional temperature, with an observed increase of up to 0.258 in the breeding values of some animals, as well as a reduction in the breeding of up to 0.793, with occasional reclassifications being observed as the temperature increased. Conclusion Non-relevant GEI for SCS were observed in Holstein cattle herds of southern Brazil. Thus, the inclusion of the temperature effect in the model of genetic evaluation of SCS for the southern Brazilian Holstein breed is not required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrique Alberto Mulim
- Department of Animal Science, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, PR, 84030-900, Brazil
| | | | | | - Victor Breno Pedrosa
- Department of Animal Science, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, PR, 84030-900, Brazil
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Cao L, Liu H, Mulder HA, Henryon M, Thomasen JR, Kargo M, Sørensen AC. Genomic Breeding Programs Realize Larger Benefits by Cooperation in the Presence of Genotype × Environment Interaction Than Conventional Breeding Programs. Front Genet 2020; 11:251. [PMID: 32373152 PMCID: PMC7186425 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genotype × environment interaction (G × E) is of increasing importance for dairy cattle breeders due to international multiple-environment selection of animals as well as the differentiation of production environments within countries. This theoretical simulation study tested the hypothesis that genomic selection (GS) breeding programs realize larger genetic benefits by cooperation in the presence of G × E than conventional pedigree-based selection (PS) breeding programs. We simulated two breeding programs each with their own cattle population and environment. Two populations had either equal or unequal population sizes. Selection of sires was done either across environments (cooperative) or within their own environment (independent). Four scenarios, (GS/PS) × (cooperative/independent), were performed. The genetic correlation (r g ) between the single breeding goal trait expressed in two environments was varied between 0.5 and 0.9. We compared scenarios for genetic gain, rate of inbreeding, proportion of selected external sires, and the split-point r g that is the lowest value of r g for long-term cooperation. Between two equal-sized populations, cooperative GS breeding programs achieved a maximum increase of 19.3% in genetic gain and a maximum reduction of 24.4% in rate of inbreeding compared to independent GS breeding programs. The increase in genetic gain and the reduction in rate of inbreeding realized by GS breeding programs with cooperation were respectively at maximum 9.7% and 24.7% higher than those realized by PS breeding programs with cooperation. Secondly, cooperative GS breeding programs allowed a slightly lower split-point r g than cooperative PS breeding programs (0.85∼0.875 vs ≥ 0.9). Between two unequal-sized populations, cooperative GS breeding programs realized higher increase in genetic gain and showed greater probability for long-term cooperation than cooperative PS breeding programs. Secondly, cooperation using GS were more beneficial to the small population while also beneficial but much less to the large population. In summary, by cooperation in the presence of G × E, GS breeding programs realize larger improvements in terms of the genetic gain and rate of inbreeding, and have greater possibility of long-term cooperation than conventional PS breeding programs. Therefore, we recommend cooperative GS breeding programs in situations with mild to moderate G × E, depending on the sizes of two populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Cao
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Huiming Liu
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Han A. Mulder
- Wageningen University & Research, Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Mark Henryon
- Danish Pig Research Centre, SEGES, Copenhagen, Denmark
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | | | - Morten Kargo
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
- SEGES, Aarhus, Denmark
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