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Behrouzi A, Colazo M, Li C, Fitzsimmons C. First-service pregnancy rate among beef heifers with different residual feed intake. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjas-2021-0105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The effect of residual feed intake (a measure of feed efficiency) adjusted for backfat thickness (RFIfat) on pregnancy rate (PR) was examined in Angus heifers over 2 yr. High- or Low-RFI heifers were timed artificially inseminated (TAI) with semen from High- or Low-RFI sires, respectively. There was a negative association (P < 0.05) between RFIfat value and PR in Year II for Low-RFI heifers. In Year I, the interaction between RFIfat and AI sires was significant in High-RFI heifers (P < 0.05) and tended to differ in Low-RFI heifers (P < 0.1). Therefore, selecting for feed efficiency may have negative consequences on fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Behrouzi
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8, Canada
| | - Marcos Colazo
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Changxi Li
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8, Canada
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Carolyn Fitzsimmons
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8, Canada
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
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Stegemiller MR, Murdoch GK, Rowan TN, Davenport KM, Becker GM, Hall JB, Murdoch BM. Genome-Wide Association Analyses of Fertility Traits in Beef Heifers. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12020217. [PMID: 33540904 PMCID: PMC7913221 DOI: 10.3390/genes12020217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of livestock to reproduce efficiently is critical to the sustainability of animal agriculture. Antral follicle count (AFC) and reproductive tract scores (RTS) can be used to estimate fertility in beef heifers, but the genetic mechanisms influencing variation in these measures are not well understood. Two genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted to identify the significant loci associated with these traits. In total, 293 crossbred beef heifers were genotyped on the Bovine GGP 50K chip and genotypes were imputed to 836,121 markers. A GWAS was performed with the AFC phenotype for 217 heifers with a multi-locus mixed model, conducted using the year, age at time of sampling and principal component analysis groupings as the covariates. The RTS GWAS was performed with 289 heifers using an additive correlation/trend test comparing prepubertal to pubertal heifers. The loci on chromosomes 2, 3 and 23 were significant in the AFC GWAS and the loci on chromosomes 2, 8, 10 and 11 were significant in the RTS GWAS. The significant region on chromosome 2 was similar between both analyses. These regions contained genes associated with cell proliferation, transcription, apoptosis and development. This study proposes candidate genes for beef cattle fertility, although future research is needed to elucidate the precise mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan R. Stegemiller
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
| | - Gordon K. Murdoch
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
- Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Troy N. Rowan
- Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA;
| | - Kimberly M. Davenport
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
| | - Gabrielle M. Becker
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
| | - John B. Hall
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
- Nancy M. Cummings Research, Education, and Extension Center, University of Idaho, Carmen, ID 83462, USA
- Correspondence: (J.B.H.); (B.M.M.); Tel.: +1-208-756-2749 (J.B.H.); +1-208-885-2088 (B.M.M.)
| | - Brenda M. Murdoch
- Department of Animal, Veterinary & Food Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA; (M.R.S.); (G.K.M.); (K.M.D.); (G.M.B.)
- Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
- Correspondence: (J.B.H.); (B.M.M.); Tel.: +1-208-756-2749 (J.B.H.); +1-208-885-2088 (B.M.M.)
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