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Jiang J, Xu L, Zhuang Y, Wei X, Zhang Z, Zhao W, Wang Q, Ye X, Gu J, Cao C, Sun J, He K, Zhang Z, Wang Q, Pan Y, Wang Z. MeHA: A Computational Framework in Revealing the Genetic Basis of Animal Mental Health Traits Under an Intensive Farming System-A Case Study in Pigs. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:843. [PMID: 39452151 PMCID: PMC11504952 DOI: 10.3390/biology13100843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2024] [Revised: 09/29/2024] [Accepted: 10/14/2024] [Indexed: 10/26/2024]
Abstract
Intensively farmed animals such as pigs inevitably experience a certain degree of psychological stress, which leads to a reduction in production performance. Mental health traits are currently difficult to measure, resulting in a gap in understanding their genetic basis. To address this challenge, we propose a computational framework called mental health of animals (MeHA), capable of revealing genes related to animal mental health traits. Using MeHA, we identified 109 candidate genes associated with pig mental health and discovered their intricate connections with critical functions, such as memory, cognition, and neural development, which are essential components of mental health and cognitive performance. Importantly, our findings provide evidence of the potential impact of these genes on economically important traits, including meat quality and piglet survival. This research underscores the importance of genetic studies in enhancing our understanding of animal behavior and cognition, as well as promoting agricultural practices. By applying our approach to study the genetic basis of mental health in pigs as a case, we confirmed that our framework is an effective way to reveal genetic factors affecting animal mental health traits, which contributes to animal welfare and has potential implications for understanding human mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyun Jiang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Lingyao Xu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Yizheng Zhuang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Xingyu Wei
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Zhenyang Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Wei Zhao
- SciGene Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Hefei 230031, China;
| | - Qingyu Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Xiaowei Ye
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Jiamin Gu
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Caiyun Cao
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Jiabao Sun
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Kan He
- Center for Stem Cell and Translational Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China;
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Centre, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
| | - Qishan Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
- Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University, Sanya 572025, China
| | - Yuchun Pan
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
- Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University, Sanya 572025, China
| | - Zhen Wang
- College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.J.); (L.X.); (Y.Z.); (X.W.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (X.Y.); (J.G.); (C.C.); (J.S.); (Z.Z.); (Q.W.); (Y.P.)
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Cao Y, Wang Z, Dai X, Zhang D, Zeng Y, Ni X, Pan K. Evaluation of probiotic properties of a Brevibacillus laterosporus strain. FASEB J 2024; 38:e23530. [PMID: 38466314 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202302408r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Brevibacillus laterosporus is a strain of probiotic bacteria that has been widely used in pest control, cash crop, and other production areas. However, few studies have been conducted on its use as a feed additive in animals. Therefore, the probiotic potential of B. laterosporus PBC01 was evaluated by characterizing hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation activity, bile salt and simulated gastrointestinal fluid tolerance, bienzymatic, and antibacterial activity. Antibiotic susceptibility, hemolysis assays, and supplemental feeding of mice were also performed to evaluate safety features. Our results showed that B. laterosporus PBC01 had moderate hydrophobicity, high auto-agglutination ability. Meanwhile, B. laterosporus PBC01 had good tolerance to bile salt and simulated gastrointestinal fluid. It had the ability to secrete protease, cellulase, and to inhibit various pathogens. In addition, B. laterosporus PBC01 was sensitive to many antibiotics, and did not produce hemolysin. In the safety assessment of mice, it did not cause any deaths, nor did it affect the cell components of blood, antioxidant capacity, and reproductive health. The study indicated the great probiotic characteristics and safety of B. laterosporus PBC01. This may provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application and development of probiotic-based feed additives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuheng Cao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | | | - Xixi Dai
- Chongqing Three Gorges Vocational College, Chongqing, China
| | - Dongmei Zhang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yan Zeng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xueqin Ni
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kangcheng Pan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
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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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Nadri S, Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi A, Zamani P, Ghorbani GR, Toghiani S. Implementation of Feed Efficiency in Iranian Holstein Breeding Program. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13071216. [PMID: 37048472 PMCID: PMC10093623 DOI: 10.3390/ani13071216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the economic impact of improving feed efficiency on breeding objectives for Iranian Holsteins. Production and economic data from seven dairy herds were used to estimate the economic values of different traits, and a meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the genetic relationships between feed efficiency and other traits. Economic weights were calculated for various traits, with mean values per cow and per year across herds estimated at USD 0.34/kg for milk yield, USD 6.93/kg for fat yield, USD 5.53/kg for protein yield, USD −1.68/kg for dry matter intake, USD −1.70/kg for residual feed intake, USD 0.47/month for productive life, and USD −2.71/day for days open. The Iranian selection index was revised to improve feed efficiency, and the feed efficiency sub-index (FE$) introduced by the Holstein Association of the United States of America was adopted to reflect Iran’s economic and production systems. However, there were discrepancies between Iranian and US genetic coefficients in the sub-index, which could be attributed to differences in genetic and phenotypic parameters, as well as the economic value of each trait. More accurate estimates of economic values for each trait in FE$ could be obtained by collecting dry matter intake from Iranian herds and conducting genetic evaluations for residual feed intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Nadri
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 83111-84156, Iran
| | - Ali Sadeghi-Sefidmazgi
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 83111-84156, Iran
- Department of Animal Science, University of Tehran, Karaj P.O. Box 3158711167-4111, Iran
| | - Pouya Zamani
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65176-58978, Iran
| | - Gholam Reza Ghorbani
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 83111-84156, Iran
| | - Sajjad Toghiani
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA
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Mancin E, Mantovani R, Tuliozi B, Sartori C. Economic weights for restriction of selection index as optimal strategy for combining multiple traits. J Dairy Sci 2022; 105:9751-9762. [DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-22085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Application of a Bio-Economic Model to Demonstrate the Importance of Health Traits in Herd Management of Lithuanian Dairy Breeds. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12151926. [PMID: 35953915 PMCID: PMC9367354 DOI: 10.3390/ani12151926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The aims of dairy cattle breeding are more often associated with direct health evidence in relation to the net financial gain and the weighting factors are usually economic values that are retrieved from a model of a dairy herd production system. In our study we used a stochastic bio-economic model SimHerd, which allows us to derive economic values for production, fertility, calving, the survival of cows and calves and assign the importance of health traits to the economic values. Special emphasis was placed on the economics values of health traits and their importance for Lithuanian dairy cattle. Abstract Assessing the economic importance of traits is crucial for delivering appropriate breeding goals in dairy cattle breeding. The aim of the present study was to calculate economic values (EV) and assign the importance of health traits for three dairy cattle breeds: Lithuanian Black-and-White open population (LBW), Lithuanian Red open population (LR) and Lithuanian Red old genotype (LROG). The EV estimation was carried out using a stochastic bio-economic model SimHerd, which allows the simulation of the expected monetary gain of dairy herds. The simulation model was calibrated for LBW, LR and LROG breeds, taking into account breed-specific phenotypic and economic data. For each trait, two scenarios were simulated with a respective trait at different phenotypic levels. To obtain the EVs, the scenarios were compared with each other in terms of their economic outcomes. In order to avoid the double counting of the effects, the output results were corrected using a multiple regression analysis with mediator variables. The EVs were derived for the traits related to production ECM (energy-corrected milk), fertility, calving traits, calf survival, cow survival and direct health. To demonstrate the importance of health traits in herd management, we provided reliable EVs estimates for functional traits related to herd health. The highest EV for direct health traits, caused by an increase in of 1 percentage point, were those found for mastitis (EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.82 per cow-year) and lameness (EUR 1.07 to EUR 1.27 per cow-year). The total costs per case of ketosis, milk fever and metritis ranged from EUR 1.01 to EUR 1.30, EUR 1.14 to EUR 1.26 and EUR 0.95 to EUR 1.0, respectively. The highest economic values of dystocia were estimated for LROG (EUR −1.32), slightly lower for LBW (EUR −1.31) and LR (EUR −1.23). The results of this study show the importance of health traits to the economic features of cattle herd selection of new breeding goal and this would improve the herd health. The economic evaluation of the functional traits analyzed in this study indicated the significant economic importance of the functional traits in Lithuanian dairy cattle breeds.
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Genotype by Environment Interaction and Selection Response for Milk Yield Traits and Conformation in a Local Cattle Breed Using a Reaction Norm Approach. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12070839. [PMID: 35405829 PMCID: PMC8996846 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Local breeds are often reared in various environmental conditions (EC), suggesting that genotype by environment interaction (GxE) could influence genetic progress. This study aimed at investigating GxE and response to selection (R) in Rendena cattle under diverse EC. Traits included milk, fat, and protein yields, fat and protein percentage, and somatic cell score, three-factor scores and 24 linear type traits. The traits belonged to 11,085 cows (615 sires). Variance components were estimated in a two-step reaction norm model (RNM). A single trait animal model was run to obtain the solutions of herd-EC effect, then included in a random regression sire model. A multivariate response to selection (R) in different EC was computed for traits under selection including beef traits from a performance test. GxE accounted on average for 10% of phenotypic variance, and an average rank correlation of over 0.97 was found between bull estimated breeding values (EBVs) by either including or not including GxE, with changing top ranks. For various traits, significantly greater genetic components and R were observed in plain farms, loose housing rearing system, feeding total mixed ration, and without summer pasture. Conversely, for beef traits, a greater R was found for mountain farms, loose housing, hay-based feeding and summer pasture.
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Marcone G, Carnovale F, Arney D, De Rosa G, Napolitano F. A simple method for on-farm evaluation of sheep welfare using animal-based indicators. Small Rumin Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2022.106636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Mancin E, Tuliozi B, Pegolo S, Sartori C, Mantovani R. Genome Wide Association Study of Beef Traits in Local Alpine Breed Reveals the Diversity of the Pathways Involved and the Role of Time Stratification. Front Genet 2022; 12:746665. [PMID: 35058966 PMCID: PMC8764395 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.746665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of the genetic architecture of key growth and beef traits in livestock species has greatly improved worldwide thanks to genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which allow to link target phenotypes to Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome. Local dual-purpose breeds have rarely been the focus of such studies; recently, however, their value as a possible alternative to intensively farmed breeds has become clear, especially for their greater adaptability to environmental change and potential for survival in less productive areas. We performed single-step GWAS and post-GWAS analysis for body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), carcass fleshiness (CF) and dressing percentage (DP) in 1,690 individuals of local alpine cattle breed, Rendena. This breed is typical of alpine pastures, with a marked dual-purpose attitude and good genetic diversity. Moreover, we considered two of the target phenotypes (BW and ADG) at different times in the individuals' life, a potentially important aspect in the study of the traits' genetic architecture. We identified 8 significant and 47 suggestively associated SNPs, located in 14 autosomal chromosomes (BTA). Among the strongest signals, 3 significant and 16 suggestive SNPs were associated with ADG and were located on BTA10 (50-60 Mb), while the hotspot associated with CF and DP was on BTA18 (55-62 MB). Among the significant SNPs some were mapped within genes, such as SLC12A1, CGNL1, PRTG (ADG), LOC513941 (CF), NLRP2 (CF and DP), CDC155 (DP). Pathway analysis showed great diversity in the biological pathways linked to the different traits; several were associated with neurogenesis and synaptic transmission, but actin-related and transmembrane transport pathways were also represented. Time-stratification highlighted how the genetic architectures of the same traits were markedly different between different ages. The results from our GWAS of beef traits in Rendena led to the detection of a variety of genes both well-known and novel. We argue that our results show that expanding genomic research to local breeds can reveal hitherto undetected genetic architectures in livestock worldwide. This could greatly help efforts to map genomic complexity of the traits of interest and to make appropriate breeding decisions.
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Breeding goals for conservation and active Polish dairy cattle breeds derived with a bio-economic model. Livest Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2021.104809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Mancin E, Sartori C, Guzzo N, Tuliozi B, Mantovani R. Selection Response Due to Different Combination of Antagonistic Milk, Beef, and Morphological Traits in the Alpine Grey Cattle Breed. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:1340. [PMID: 34066815 PMCID: PMC8151928 DOI: 10.3390/ani11051340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Selection in local dual-purpose breeds requires great carefulness because of the need to preserve peculiar traits and also guarantee the positive genetic progress for milk and beef production to maintain economic competitiveness. A specific breeding plan accounting for milk, beef, and functional traits is required by breeders of the Alpine Grey cattle (AG), a local dual-purpose breed of the Italian Alps. Hereditability and genetic correlations among all traits have been analyzed for this purpose. After that, different selection indexes were proposed to identify the most suitable for this breed. Firstly, a genetic parameters analysis was carried out with different datasets. The milk dataset contained 406,918 test day records of milk, protein, and fat yields and somatic cells (expressed as SCS). The beef dataset included performance test data conducted on 749 young bulls. Average daily gain, in vivo estimated carcass yields, and carcass conformation (SEUROP) were the phenotypes obtained from the performance tests. The morphological dataset included 21 linear type evaluations of 11,320 first party cows. Linear type traits were aggregated through factor analysis and three factors were retained, while head typicality (HT) and rear muscularity (RM) were analyzed as single traits. Heritability estimates (h2) for milk traits ranged from 0.125 to 0.219. Analysis of beef traits showed h2 greater than milk traits, ranging from 0.282 to 0.501. Type traits showed a medium value of h2 ranging from 0.238 to 0.374. Regarding genetic correlation, SCS and milk traits were strongly positively correlated. Milk traits had a negative genetic correlation with the factor accounting for udder conformations (-0.40) and with all performance test traits and RM. These latter traits showed also a negative genetic correlation with udder volume (-0.28). The HT and the factor accounting for rear legs traits were not correlated with milk traits, but negatively correlated with beef traits (-0.32 with RM). We argue that the consequence of these results is that the use of the current selection index, which is mainly focused on milk attitude, will lead to a deterioration of all other traits. In this study, we propose more appropriate selection indexes that account for genetic relationships among traits, including functional traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Mancin
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy; (C.S.); (B.T.); (R.M.)
| | - Cristina Sartori
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy; (C.S.); (B.T.); (R.M.)
| | - Nadia Guzzo
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy;
| | - Beniamino Tuliozi
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy; (C.S.); (B.T.); (R.M.)
| | - Roberto Mantovani
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy; (C.S.); (B.T.); (R.M.)
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Schmidtmann C, Thaller G, Kargo M, Hinrichs D, Ettema J. Derivation of economic values for German dairy breeds by means of a bio-economic model-with special emphasis on functional traits. J Dairy Sci 2020; 104:3144-3157. [PMID: 33358794 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2019-17635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
To assess the economic importance of breeding traits, economic values (EV) were derived for 3 German dairy cattle breeds: German Holstein (HOL), Angler (ANG), and Red and White Dual-Purpose (RDN). For that purpose, the stochastic bio-economic model SimHerd (SimHerd A/S, Viborg, Denmark) was used, which simulates the expected monetary gain in dairy herds. The EV was calculated as the alteration in average net return of the herd responding to a marginal change in the trait of interest. When deriving EV using SimHerd, economic consequences resulting from changes in the age structure of a dairy herd (i.e., structural herd effects) are considered. However, this requires the simulation of relationships between traits in the bio-economic model. To avoid double counting, the EV of a trait was corrected for effects from alterations in correlated traits using multiple regression analysis. The EV were derived for 23 traits in terms of production, conformation and workability, dairy health, calf survival, and reproduction performance. Furthermore, the relative economic importance of the breeding traits was calculated. Relative emphasis on production was between 39.9 and 44.4% in the breeds studied. Total costs per case of ketosis and metritis ranged from €167 to €196 and €173 to €182, respectively. Highest marginal EV of direct health traits were found for mastitis (€257 to €271 per case) and lameness (€270 to €310 per case). Consequently, relative emphasis on direct health traits was between 15.7 and 17.9%. The EV of reproduction performance showed largest differences among the cattle breeds. Overall relative emphasis on reproduction was 10.5% in HOL, 10.8% in ANG, and 6.5% in RDN. The relative economic importance of cow mortality ranged from 15.5 to 16.0% across the breeds. Collectively, the study showed the high economic importance of functional traits in the cattle breeds studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Schmidtmann
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
| | - G Thaller
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany
| | - M Kargo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark; SEGES, Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - D Hinrichs
- Department of Animal Breeding, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany
| | - J Ettema
- SEGES, Agro Food Park 15, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark; SimHerd A/S, Agro Business Park, Niels Pedersens Alle 2, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
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Amaya A, Garrick D, Martínez R, Cerón-Muñoz M. Economic values for index improvement of dual-purpose Simmental cattle. Livest Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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14
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Divergent selection signatures of phenotypic and production traits among conserved and commercial cattle breeds. Livest Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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15
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Guzzo N, Sartori C, Mantovani R. Genetic parameters of different measures of somatic cell counts in the Rendena breed. J Dairy Sci 2018; 101:8054-8062. [DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-14047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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16
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Genetic correlations among milk yield, morphology, performance test traits and somatic cells in dual-purpose Rendena breed. Animal 2017; 12:906-914. [PMID: 29039278 DOI: 10.1017/s1751731117002543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Selection in native local breeds needs great carefulness due to the small population size and the risk of inbreeding. Furthermore, most breeds are dual-purpose, and milk and beef attitudes are antagonistic. For preservation purposes functional traits need to be considered. Focusing on the small local Rendena cattle, this study aimed to analyse the genetic correlations among milk, beef and udder health traits and the response to selection predicted under different scenarios. The study considered milk, fat and protein yields (MY), factor scores for udder volume (UV), conformation (UC) and muscularity obtained from type traits scored on primiparous cows, and performance test traits (PT) measured on young bulls at test station: average daily gain, in vivo SEUROP fleshiness, in vivo dressing percentage. Somatic cell score (SCS) was considered as a functional trait, with a possibility of restricting its genetic gain to zero. The study considered 281 497 MY test-day data collected on 16 974 cows, and data from linear type evaluation on 11 992 primiparous cows for factor scores. The PT data were recorded on 1428 young bulls, and SCS obtained from cell counts at milk recording. Bi-trait restricted maximum likelihood animal model analyses were performed to assess genetic parameters. Heritability varied from 0.157 (fat) to 0.442 (dressing percentage). Udder volume and MY resulted positively genetically correlated (average correlation 0.427), whereas the low-negative genetic correlation between MY and UC (-0.141) suggested a negative impact of milk gain on udder form. Beef traits of factor muscularity and PT showed medium-high favourable genetic correlations (from 0.357 to 0.984), excluding a null correlation between daily gain and muscularity. The genetic correlation MY v. muscularity was unfavourable (-0.328 on average), whereas null correlations were found in MY v. PT, apart from fat v. dressing percentage (-0.151). Somatic cell score showed low unfavourable correlations with protein (0.111) and UV (0.092), and favourable correlations with UC (-0.193). Response to selection in different scenarios indicated a good balanced gain for milk and beef when standardized economic weights of 0.66 and 0.34 are given to the two attitudes, and SCS genetic gain is restricted. Current genetic trends (MY and PT increasing, but muscularity lessening) reflect a stronger selection for milk, suggesting a slight progressive change towards a milk conformation. Aiming to preserve the dual-purpose characteristics of a breed, proper breeding policies taking into account the genetic relationships among traits and including functional traits should be applied in local dual-purpose populations.
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17
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Genomic characterization of Pinzgau cattle: genetic conservation and breeding perspectives. CONSERV GENET 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-017-0935-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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18
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Cassandro M, Pretto D, Lopez-Villalobos N, De Marchi M, Penasa M. Estimation of economic values for milk coagulation properties in Italian Holstein-Friesian cattle. J Dairy Sci 2016; 99:6619-6626. [DOI: 10.3168/jds.2015-10228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Mazza S, Guzzo N, Sartori C, Mantovani R. Genetic correlations between type and test-day milk yield in small dual-purpose cattle populations: The Aosta Red Pied breed as a case study. J Dairy Sci 2016; 99:8127-8136. [PMID: 27448852 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2016-11116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed at estimating the relationships between linear type traits and milk production in the dual-purpose Aosta Red Pied (ARP) cattle breed, by expressing type traits as factor scores with the same biological meaning of the individual traits. Factor analysis was applied to individual type traits for muscularity and udder of 32,275 first-parity ARP cows, obtaining 3 factor scores for individual muscularity (F1), udder side (F2), and udder conformation (F3). Data from 169,008 test-day records of milk, fat, and protein yield (kg), belonging to the first 3 lactations of 16,605 cows, were also analyzed. After obtaining genetic parameters for both morphological factors and milk production traits through a series of AIREML single-trait models, bivariate analyses were performed on a data set accounting for 201,283 records of 35,530 cows, to assess the phenotypic and genetic correlations among all factor scores and milk yield traits. The heritability estimates obtained proved to be moderate for both groups of traits, ranging from 0.132 (fat) to 0.314 (F1). Muscularity factor showed moderate and negative genetic correlations (ra) with udder size (-0.376) and udder conformation (0.214) factors. A low and negative ra was found between udder factors. Strong and positive ra were found among all the 3 milk production traits and F 0010 (ra≥0.597). Negative ra with milk traits were obtained for both F 0005 and F3, ranging from -0.417 to -0.221. Phenotypic correlations were lower than the genetic ones, and sometimes close to zero. The antagonism between milk production and meat attitude traits suggests that great attention should be paid in assigning proper weight to the traits, comprising functional traits such as udder conformation, included in selection indices for the dual-purpose breed. The ra obtained for factor scores are consistent with previous estimates for the corresponding individual type traits, and this confirms the possible use of factor analysis to improve type traits relevant to beef attitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Mazza
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - Nadia Guzzo
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - Cristina Sartori
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy.
| | - Roberto 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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