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Olasege BS, van den Berg I, Haile-Mariam M, Ho PN, Yin Oh Z, Porto-Neto LR, Hayes BJ, Pryce JE, Fortes MRS. Dissecting loci that underpin the genetic correlations between production, fertility, and urea traits in Australian Holstein cattle. Anim Genet 2024; 55:540-558. [PMID: 38885945 DOI: 10.1111/age.13455] [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: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Unfavorable genetic correlations between milk production, fertility, and urea traits have been reported. However, knowledge of the genomic regions associated with these unfavorable correlations is limited. Here, we used the correlation scan method to identify and investigate the regions driving or antagonizing the genetic correlations between production vs. fertility, urea vs. fertility, and urea vs. production traits. Driving regions produce an estimate of correlation that is in the same direction as the global correlation. Antagonizing regions produce an estimate in the opposite direction of the global estimates. Our dataset comprised 6567, 4700, and 12,658 Holstein cattle with records of production traits (milk yield, fat yield, and protein yield), fertility (calving interval) and urea traits (milk urea nitrogen and blood urea nitrogen predicted using milk-mid-infrared spectroscopy), respectively. Several regions across the genome drive the correlations between production, fertility, and urea traits. Antagonizing regions were confined to certain parts of the genome and the genes within these regions were mostly involved in preventing metabolic dysregulation, liver reprogramming, metabolism remodeling, and lipid homeostasis. The driving regions were enriched for QTL related to puberty, milk, and health-related traits. Antagonizing regions were mostly related to muscle development, metabolic body weight, and milk traits. In conclusion, we have identified genomic regions of potential importance for dairy cattle breeding. Future studies could investigate the antagonizing regions as potential genomic regions to break the unfavorable correlations and improve milk production as well as fertility and urea traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babatunde S Olasege
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Irene van den Berg
- Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mekonnen Haile-Mariam
- Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Phuong N Ho
- Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Zhen Yin Oh
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Ben J Hayes
- The University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jennie E Pryce
- Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marina R S Fortes
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- The University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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2
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Marcos CN, Bach A, Gutiérrez-Rivas M, González-Recio O. The oral microbiome as a proxy for feed intake in dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:5881-5896. [PMID: 38522834 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2024-24014] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Genetic material from rumen microorganisms can be found within the oral cavity, and hence there is potential in using the oral microbiome as a proxy of the ruminal microbiome. Feed intake (FI) influences the composition of rumen microbiota and might directly influence the oral microbiome in dairy cattle. Ruminal content samples (RS) from 29 cows were collected at the beginning of the study and also 42 d later (RS0 and RS42, respectively). Additionally, 18 oral samples were collected through buccal swabbing at d 42 (OS42) from randomly selected cows. Samples were used to characterize and compare the taxonomy and functionality of the oral microbiome using nanopore sequencing and to evaluate the feasibility of using the oral microbiome to estimate FI. Up to 186 taxonomical features were found differentially abundant (DA) between RS and OS42. Similar results were observed when comparing OS42 to RS collected on different days. Microorganisms associated with the liquid fraction of the rumen were less abundant in OS42 because these were probably swallowed after regurgitation. Up to 1,102 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were found to be DA between RS and OS42, and these results differed when comparing time of collection, but DA KEGG pathways were mainly associated with metabolism in both situations. Models based on the oral microbiome and rumen microbiome differed in their selection of microbial groups and biological pathways to predict FI. In the rumen, fiber-associated microorganisms are considered suitable indicators of FI. In contrast, biofilm formers like Gammaproteobacteria or Bacteroidia classes are deemed appropriate proxies for predicting FI from oral samples. Models from RS exhibited some predictive ability to estimate FI, but oral samples substantially outperformed them. The best lineal model to estimate FI was obtained with the relative abundance of taxonomical feature at genera level, achieving an average R2 = 0.88 within the training data, and a root mean square error of 3.46 ± 0.83 (±SD) kg of DM, as well as a Pearson correlation coefficient between observed and estimated FI of 0.48 ± 0.30 in the test data. The results from this study suggest that oral microbiome has potential to predict FI in dairy cattle, and it encourages validating this potential in other populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- C N Marcos
- Departamento de Producción Agraria, ETSIAAB, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Mejora Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria - CSIC, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - A Bach
- ICREA, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Gutiérrez-Rivas
- Departamento de Mejora Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria - CSIC, 28040 Madrid, Spain; Blanca from the Pyrenees, Hostalets de Tost, 25795 Lleida, Spain
| | - O González-Recio
- Departamento de Mejora Genética Animal, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria - CSIC, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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3
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Weller JI, Ezra E. Genetic analysis of rumination time based on an analysis of 77,697 Israeli dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:4793-4803. [PMID: 38428492 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-24095] [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: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Reduction of methane emission may become necessary for sustainable milk production. Several studies indicate a relationship between rumination time and the level of methane emission. The objectives of the current study were to estimate environmental factors affecting daily rumination time in high-yielding dairy cattle, genetic parameters for rumination time across parities, and environmental and genetic correlations between rumination time and economic traits, and to predict the consequence of inclusion of this trait in the Israeli breeding index. The data included more than 30 million daily records from 77,697 Israeli Holstein cows for rumination time and milk production. A lactation measure of daily rumination time per cow was computed as the mean of the residuals from a linear model analysis with rumination time as the dependent variable. The independent variables were parity and the square root, linear, quadradic and inverse of DIM by parity. Because of the shape of the lactation curve for rumination time, separate linear model analyses were performed for records up to 40 DIM and records with >40 DIM. The phenotypic correlation between first- and second-parity lactations for rumination time was almost 0.8, and close to 0.7 for milk. The heritability of lactation rumination time was close to 0.44 for parities 1 to 3. Heritability for milk production decreased from 0.5 in first parity to 0.3 in third parity. For both traits, genetic correlations among parities were all >0.9. Thus, for routine genetic analysis of rumination time, records in the different parities can be considered the same trait. The genetic correlation between rumination time and milk on first parity was 0.25 and increased slightly with increase in parity. Genetic correlations between rumination time, based on the first 40 DIM, were economically unfavorable with retained placenta but economically favorable with metritis, ketosis, and displaced abomasum. Genetic correlations between rumination time and the 9 traits included in the Israeli breeding index (milk, fat, and protein production; SCS; female fertility; herd-life; milk production persistency; calving ease; and calf mortality) were all economically favorable, except for the correlation of 0.17 with SCS. With the current index, daily rumination time with a current mean of 536 min and SD of 90 min is expected to increase by 11 min/d after 10 yr of selection. Inclusion of this trait with a positive index weight equivalent to 10% of the index should increase rumination time by 19 min. All changes in expected gains due to inclusion of rumination time in the index were economically positive, except for fat and SCS. Inclusion of rumination time in the index should result in 1 kg less gain in fat, a miniscule gain of 0.03 for SCS; and gains of 1.5 kg protein, 0.3% female fertility, and 5 d herd-life. Even though the case for a genetic correlation between rumination time and methane emission is still weak, inclusion of this trait in the commercial index may be justified, considering that equipment is now commercially available for routine recording at reasonable cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Ira Weller
- Israeli Cattle Breeders Association, Caesarea Industrial Park 3088900, Israel.
| | - Ephraim Ezra
- Israeli Cattle Breeders Association, Caesarea Industrial Park 3088900, Israel
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Shang S, Li Z, Li J, Zhao X, Zhang W, Zhang X, Bai J, Yang Z, Guo K. Effects of high moisture ear corn on production performance, milk fatty acid composition, serum antioxidant status, and immunity in primiparous dairy cows. Anim Biosci 2024; 37:1204-1212. [PMID: 38575129 PMCID: PMC11222838 DOI: 10.5713/ab.23.0318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effects of high moisture ear corn (HMEC) on production performance, milk fatty acid composition, serum antioxidant status, and immunity in primiparous dairy cows. METHODS A total of 45 healthy primiparous Holstein cows (36.50±4.30 kg of milk/d, 201±9.00 lactating days in milk) were sorted into 3 groups: control group (CG, n = 15); 50% HMEC (replacing 50% steam-flaked corn with HMEC, n = 15); and 100% HMEC (replacing steam-flaked corn with HMEC, n = 15) on an equal dry matter (DM) basis. The study consisted of adaptation period of 14 days, followed by a formal period of 60 days. Feed intake and milk yield were recorded daily. Milk and blood samples were collected on 1, 30, and 60 d of the experimental period. RESULTS The 50% HMEC group and 100% HMEC group significantly increased (p<0.05) milk yield and DM intake in dairy cows compared to the control group (CG). The 100% HMEC group showed an increase (p<0.05) in 4% fat-corrected milk (4% FCM). Both the 50% HMEC group and 100% HMEC group exhibited significant decreases (p<0.05) in the content of C10:0, C12:0, and C14:0 fatty acids, along with a significant increase (p<0.05) in cis-9C18:1 content. The saturated fatty acid content was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the 50% HMEC and 100% HMEC groups than that of CG. Conversely, the monounsaturated fatty acid content was higher (p<0.05) in the 50% HMEC and 100% HMEC groups than that in CG. Notably, the 100% HMEC group significantly increased (p<0.05) the serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase content, while also decreasing the serum malondialdehyde content (p<0.05). Moreover, the 100% HMEC group significantly increased (p<0.05) the content of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM. CONCLUSION High moisture ear corn could improve production performance and milk fatty acid levels and enhance immunity and antioxidant capacity in dairy cows. These results lay the foundation for the wider application of HMEC in ruminant animal diets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songlin Shang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Zheng Li
- Beijing Institute of Feed Control, Beijing 100107,
China
| | - Jiajun Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Xi Zhao
- Beijing Institute of Feed Control, Beijing 100107,
China
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Xinrui Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Jinni Bai
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Zhiye Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
| | - Kaijun Guo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206,
China
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5
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Lopes LSF, Schenkel FS, Houlahan K, Rochus CM, Oliveira GA, Oliveira HR, Miglior F, Alcantara LM, Tulpan D, Baes CF. Estimates of genetic parameters for rumination time, feed efficiency, and methane production traits in first-lactation Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:4704-4713. [PMID: 38310964 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23751] [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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
The large-scale recording of traits such as feed efficiency (FE) and methane emissions (ME) for use in genetic improvement programs is complex, costly, and time-consuming. Therefore, heritable traits that can be continuously recorded in dairy herds and are correlated with FE and ME traits could provide useful information for genetic evaluation. Rumination time has been suggested to be associated with FE, methane production (MeP; ME in g/d), and production traits at the phenotypic level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the genetic relationships among rumination time (RT), FE, methane and production traits using 7,358 records from 656 first-lactation Holstein cows. The estimated heritabilities were moderate for RT (0.45 ± 0.14), MeP (0.36 ± 0.12), milk yield (0.40 ± 0.08), fat yield (0.29 ± 0.06), protein yield (0.32 ± 0.07), and energy-corrected milk (0.28 ± 0.07), but were low and nonsignificant for FE (0.15 ± 0.07), which was defined as the residual of the multiple linear regression of DMI on energy-corrected milk and metabolic body weight. A favorable negative genetic correlation was estimated between RT and MeP (-0.53 ± 0.24), whereas a positive favorable correlation was estimated between RT and energy-corrected milk (0.49 ± 0.11). The estimated genetic correlation of RT with FE (-0.01 ± 0.17) was not significantly different from zero but showed a trend of a low correlation with dry matter intake (0.21 ± 0.13). These results indicate that RT is genetically associated with MeP and milk production traits, but high standard errors indicate that further analyses should be conducted to verify these findings when more data for RT, MeP, and FE become available.
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Affiliation(s)
- L S F Lopes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1.
| | - F S Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | - K Houlahan
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | - C M Rochus
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | - G A Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | | | - F Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1K 1E5
| | - L M Alcantara
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | - D Tulpan
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1
| | - C F Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1; Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
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6
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Sucena Afonso J, Gilbert W, Oikonomou G, Rushton J. Setting the boundaries-an approach to estimate the Loss Gap in dairy cattle. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306314. [PMID: 38935774 PMCID: PMC11210862 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Dairy production in the UK has undergone substantial restructuring over the last few decades. Farming intensification has led to a reduction in the total numbers of farms and animals, while the average herd size per holding has increased. These ever-changing circumstances have important implications for the health and welfare of dairy cows, as well as the overall business performance of farms. For decision-making in dairy farming, it is essential to understand the underlying causes of the inefficiencies and their relative impact. The investigation of yield gaps regarding dairy cattle has been focused on specific causes. However, in addition to the risk of overestimating the impact of a specific ailment, this approach does not allow understanding of the relative contribution to the total, nor does it allow understanding of how well-described that gap is in terms of underlying causes. Using the English and Welsh dairy sectors as an example, this work estimates the Loss Gap-composed of yield losses and health expenditure - using a benchmarking approach and scenario analysis. The Loss Gap was estimated by comparing the current performance of dairy herds as a baseline with that of scenarios where assumptions were made about the milk production of cows, production costs, market prices, mortality, and expenditure related to health events. A deterministic model was developed, consisting of an enterprise budget, in which the cow was the unit, with milking herd and young stock treated separately. When constraining milk production, the model estimated an annual Loss Gap of £148 to £227 million for the whole sector. The reduction in costs of veterinary services and medicines, alongside herd replacement costs, were important contributors to the estimate with some variation between the scenarios. Milk price had a substantial impact in the estimate, with revenue from milk yield representing more than 30% of the Loss Gap, when milk price was benchmarked against that of the top performing farms. This framework provides the boundaries for understanding the relative burden from specific causes in English and Welsh dairy cattle, ensuring that the sum of the estimated losses due to particular problem does not exceed the losses from all-causes, health or non-health related.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Sucena Afonso
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Global Burden of Animal Diseases Programme, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - William Gilbert
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Global Burden of Animal Diseases Programme, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Oikonomou
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Rushton
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Global Burden of Animal Diseases Programme, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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7
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Mulhall SA, Sleator RD, Evans RD, Berry DP, Twomey AJ. Impact on prime animal beef merit from breeding solely for lighter dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 2024:S0022-0302(24)00851-8. [PMID: 38825095 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-24633] [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: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
As the proportion of prime carcasses originating from dairy herds increases, the focus is shifting to the beef merit of the progeny from dairy herds. Several dairy cow total merit indexes include a negative weight on measures of cow size. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the impact of genetic selection, solely for lighter or smaller-sized dairy cows, on the beef performance of their progeny. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify the genetic correlations among cow size traits (i.e., cow body weight (BW), cow carcass weight (CW)), cow body condition score (BCS), cow carcass conformation (CC), and cow carcass fat cover (CF), as well as the correlations between these cow traits and a series of beef performance slaughter-related traits (i.e., CW, CC, CF, and age at slaughter (AS)) in their progeny. After data editing, there were 52,950 cow BW and BCS records, along with 57,509 cow carcass traits (i.e., CW, CC, and CF); carcass records from 346,350 prime animals along with AS records from 316,073 prime animals were also used. Heritability estimates ranged from moderate to high (0.18 to 0.62) for all cow and prime animal traits. The same carcass trait in cows and prime animals were strongly genetically correlated with each other (0.76 to 0.85), implying that they are influenced by very similar genomic variants. Selecting exclusively for cows with higher BCS (i.e., fatter) will, on average, produce more conformed prime animals carcasses, owing to a moderate genetic correlation (0.30) between both traits. Genetic correlations revealed that selecting exclusively for lighter BW or CW cows will, on average, result in lighter prime animal carcasses of poor CC, while also delaying slaughter age. Nonetheless, selective breeding through total merit indexes should be successful in breeding for smaller dairy cows, and desirable prime animal carcass traits concurrently, because of the non-unity genetic correlations between the cow and prime animal traits; this will help to achieve a more ethical, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable dairy-beef industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- S A Mulhall
- Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, P61 C996, Ireland; Department of Biological Sciences, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown Campus, Cork, T12 VN56, Ireland
| | - R D Sleator
- Department of Biological Sciences, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown Campus, Cork, T12 VN56, Ireland
| | - R D Evans
- Department of Biological Sciences, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown Campus, Cork, T12 VN56, Ireland
| | - D P Berry
- Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, P61 C996, Ireland.
| | - A J Twomey
- Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, P61 C996, Ireland; Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, Link Rd, Ballincollig, Co. Cork, P31 D452, Ireland
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8
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Behdad S, Pakdel A, Massudi R. A novel diagnostic approach to Paratuberculosis in dairy cattle using near-infrared spectroscopy and aquaphotomics. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14:1374560. [PMID: 38873096 PMCID: PMC11170640 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1374560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction As a contagious and chronic disease in the livestock industry, Paratuberculosis is a significant threat to dairy herds' genetic and economic resources. Due to intensive breeding and high production of dairy cattle, the incidence and prevalence are higher. Developing non-destructive diagnostic methods for the early detection and identification of healthy animals is paramount for breeding programs. Conventional methods are almost entirely destructive, have low accuracy, lack precision, and are time-consuming. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and aquaphotomics can detect changes in biofluids and thus have the potential to diagnose disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic ability of NIRS and aquaphotomics for Paratuberculosis in dairy cattle. Methods Blood plasma from dairy cattle was collected in the NIR range (1,300 nm to 1,600 nm) 60 days before and 100 days to 200 days after calving in two groups, positive and negative, using the same consecutive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test results three times as a reference test. Results NIRS and aquaphotomics methods invite 100% accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity to detect Paratuberculosis using data mining by unsupervised method, Principal Component Analysis, and supervised methods: Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogiest, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis, Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis, and Support Vector Machine models. Discussion The current study found that monitoring blood plasma with NIR spectra provides an opportunity to analyze antibody levels indirectly via changes in water spectral patterns caused by complex physiological changes, such as the amount of antibodies related to Paratuberculosis by aquagram.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saba Behdad
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Abbas Pakdel
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Reza Massudi
- Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
- Laser and Plasma Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
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9
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Oliveira HR, Chud TCS, Oliveira GA, Hermisdorff IC, Narayana SG, Rochus CM, Butty AM, Malchiodi F, Stothard P, Miglior F, Baes CF, Schenkel FS. Genome-wide association analyses reveals copy number variant regions associated with reproduction and disease traits in Canadian Holstein cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024:S0022-0302(24)00810-5. [PMID: 38788846 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-24295] [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: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of copy number variants (CNVs) on 13 reproduction and 12 disease traits in Holstein cattle. Intensity signal files containing Log R ratio and B allele frequency information from 13,730 Holstein animals genotyped with a 95K SNP panel, and 8,467 Holstein animals genotyped with a 50K SNP panel were used to identify the CNVs. Subsequently, the identified CNVs were validated using whole genome sequence data from 126 animals, resulting in 870 high-confidence CNV regions (CNVRs) on 12,131 animals. Out of these, 54 CNVRs had frequencies higher than or equal to 1% in the population and were used in the genome-wide association analysis (one CNVR at a time, including the G matrix). Results revealed that 4 CNVRs were significantly (p-value < 3.7 × 10-5) associated with at least one of the traits analyzed in this study. Specifically, 2 CNVRs were associated with 3 reproduction traits (i.e., calf survival, first service to conception, and non-return rate), and 2 CNVRs were associated with 2 disease traits (i.e., metritis and retained placenta). These CNVRs harbored genes implicated in immune response, cellular signaling, and neuronal development, supporting their potential involvement in these traits. Further investigations to unravel the mechanistic and functional implications of these CNVRs on the mentioned traits are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hinayah R Oliveira
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Tatiane C S Chud
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Gerson A Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Isis C Hermisdorff
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Saranya G Narayana
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Lactanet, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christina M Rochus
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Francesca Malchiodi
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Semex, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Filippo Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Lactanet, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christine F Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Flavio S Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
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10
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Medeiros GC, Ferraz JBS, Pedrosa VB, Chen SY, Doucette JS, Boerman JP, Brito LF. Genetic parameters for udder conformation traits derived from Cartesian coordinates generated by robotic milking systems in North American Holstein cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024:S0022-0302(24)00797-5. [PMID: 38762108 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-24208] [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: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Udder conformation is directly related to milk yield, cow health, workability, and welfare. Automatic milking systems (AMS, also known as milking robots) have become popular worldwide, and the number of dairy farms adopting these systems have increased considerably over the past years. In each milking visit, AMS record the location of the 4 teats as Cartesian coordinates in a xyz plan, which can then be used to derive udder conformation traits. AMS generate a large amount of per milking visit data for individual cows, which contribute to an accurate assessment of important traits such as udder conformation without the addition of human classifier errors (in subjective scoring systems). Therefore, the primary objectives of this study were to estimate genomic-based genetic parameters for udder conformation traits derived from AMS records in North American Holstein cattle and to assess the genetic correlation between the derived traits for evaluating the feasibility of multi-trait genomic selection for breeding cows that are more suitable for milking in AMS. The Cartesian teat coordinates measured during each milking visit were collected by 36 milking robots in 4,480 Holstein cows from 2017 to 2021, resulting in 5,317,488 records. A total of 4,118 of these Holstein cows were also genotyped for 57,600 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Five udder conformation traits were derived: udder balance (UB, mm), udder depth (UD, mm), front teat distance (FTD, mm), rear teat distance (RTD, mm), and distance front-rear (DFR, mm). In addition, 2 traits directly related to cow productivity in the system were added to the study: daily milk yield (DY) and milk electroconductivity (EC; as an indicator of mastitis). Variance components and genetic parameters for UB, UD, FTD, RTD, DFR, DY, and EC were estimated based on repeatability animal models. The estimates of heritability (±standard error, SE) for UB, UD, FTD, RTD, DFR, DY, and EC were 0.41 ± 0.02, 0.79 ± 0.01, 0.53 ± 0.02, 0.40 ± 0.02, 0.65 ± 0.02, 0.20 ± 0.02, and 0.46 ± 0.02, respectively. The repeatability estimates (±SE) for UB, UD, FTD, RTD, and DFR were 0.82 ± 0.01, 0.93 ± 0.01, 0.87 ± 0.01, 0.83 ± 0.01, and 0.88 ± 0.01, respectively. The strongest genetic correlations were observed between the FTD and RTD (0.54 ± 0.03), UD and DFR (-0.47 ± 0.03), DFR and FTD (0.32 ± 0.03), and UD and FTD (-0.31 ± 0.03). These results suggest that udder conformation traits derived from Cartesian coordinates from AMS are moderately to highly heritable. Furthermore, the moderate genetic correlations between these traits should be considered when developing selection sub-indexes. The most relevant genetic correlations between traits related to cow milk productivity and udder conformation traits were between UD and EC (-0.25 ± 0.03) and between DFR and DY (0.30 ± 0.04), in which both genetic correlations are favorable. These findings will contribute to the design of genomic selection schemes for improving udder conformation in North American Holstein cattle, especially in precision dairy farms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel C Medeiros
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Sciences and Food Engineering, University of São Paulo, Pirassununga, SP, 13635-900, Brazil; Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Jose Bento S Ferraz
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Sciences and Food Engineering, University of São Paulo, Pirassununga, SP, 13635-900, Brazil
| | - Victor B Pedrosa
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Shi-Yi Chen
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA; Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Jarrod S Doucette
- Agriculture Information Technology (AgIT), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Jacquelyn P Boerman
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Luiz F Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
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11
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Bhuiyan MSA, Kim YK, Lee DH, Chung Y, Lee DJ, Kang JM, Lee SH. Evaluation of non-additive genetic effects on carcass and meat quality traits in Korean Hanwoo cattle using genomic models. Animal 2024; 18:101152. [PMID: 38701710 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101152] [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: 10/03/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The traditional genetic evaluation methods generally consider additive genetic effects only and often ignore non-additive (dominance and epistasis) effects that may have contributed to genetic variation of complex traits of livestock species. The available dense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) panels offer to investigate the potential benefits of including non-additive genetic effects in the genomic evaluation models. Data from 16 971 genotyped (Illumina Bovine 50 K SNP chip) Korean Hanwoo cattle were used to estimate genetic variance components and prediction accuracy of genomic breeding values (GEBVs) for four carcass and meat quality traits: carcass weight (CWT), eye muscle area (EMA), back fat thickness (BFT) and marbling score (MS). Five different genetic models were evaluated through including additive, dominance and epistatic interactions (additive by additive, A × A; additive by dominance, A × D and dominance by dominance, D × D) successively in the models. The estimates of additive genetic variances and narrow sense heritabilities (ha2) were found similar across the evaluated models and traits except when additive interaction (A × A) was included. The dominance variance estimates relative to phenotypic variance ranged from 1.7-3.4% for CWT and MS traits, whereas, they were close to zero for EMA and BFT traits. The magnitude of A × A epistatic heritability (haa2) ranged between 14.8 and 27.7% in all traits. However, heritability estimates for A × D and D × D epistatic interactions (had2 and hdd2) were quite low compared to haa2 and were contributed only 0.0-9.7% of the total phenotypic variation. In general, broad sense heritability (hG2) estimates were almost twice (ranging between 0.54 and 0.68) the ha2 for all of the investigated traits. The inclusion of dominance effects did not improve the prediction accuracy of GEBV but improved 2.0-3.0% when epistatic effects were included in the model. More importantly, rank correlation revealed that partitioning of variance components considering dominance and epistatic effects in the model would enable to re-rank of top animals with better prediction of GEBV. The present result suggests that dominance and epistatic effects could be included in the genomic evaluation model for better estimates of variance components and more accurate prediction of GEBV for carcass and meat quality traits in Korean Hanwoo cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S A Bhuiyan
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Y K Kim
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea; Quantomic Research & Solution, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - D H Lee
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea; Quantomic Research & Solution, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Y Chung
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - D J Lee
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - J M Kang
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - S H Lee
- Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea.
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12
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Maskal JM, Pedrosa VB, Rojas de Oliveira H, Brito LF. A comprehensive meta-analysis of genetic parameters for resilience and productivity indicator traits in Holstein cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:3062-3079. [PMID: 38056564 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23668] [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: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Selection for resilience indicator (RIND) traits in Holstein cattle is becoming an important breeding objective as the worldwide population is expected to be exposed to increased environmental stressors due to both climate change and changing industry standards. However, genetic correlations between RIND and productivity indicator (PIND) traits, which are already being selected for and have the most economic value, are often unfavorable. As a result, it is necessary to fully understand these genetic relationships when incorporating novel traits into selection indices, so that informed decisions can be made to fully optimize selection for both groups of traits. In the past 2 decades, there have been many estimates of RIND traits published in the literature, albeit in small populations. To provide valuable pooled summary estimates, a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted for heritability and genetic correlation estimates for PIND and RIND traits in worldwide Holstein cattle. In total, 926 heritability estimates for 9 PIND and 27 RIND traits, along with 362 estimates of genetic correlation (PIND × RIND traits) were collected. Resilience indicator traits were grouped into the following subgroups: Metabolic Diseases, Hoof Health, Udder Health, Fertility, Heat Tolerance, Longevity, and Other. Pooled estimates of heritability for PIND traits ranged from 0.201 ± 0.05 (energy-corrected milk) to 0.377 ± 0.06 (protein content), while pooled estimates of heritability for RIND traits ranged from 0.032 ± 0.02 (incidence of lameness, incidence of milk fever) to 0.497 ± 0.05 (measures of body weight). Pooled estimates of genetic correlations ranged from -0.360 ± 0.25 (protein content vs. milk acetone concentration) to 0.535 ± 0.72 (measures of fat-to-protein ratio vs. milk acetone concentration). Additionally, out of 243 potential genetic correlations between PIND and RIND traits that could have been reported, only 40 had enough published estimates to implement the meta-analysis model. Our results confirmed that the interactions between PIND and RIND traits are complex, and all relationships should be evaluated when incorporating novel traits into selection indices. This study provides a valuable reference for breeders looking to incorporate RIND traits for Holstein cattle into selection indices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob M Maskal
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
| | - Victor B Pedrosa
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
| | | | - Luiz F Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
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13
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Moreira MB, Ferreira FC, Campolina JP, Coelho SG. Association of passive immunity and genetic composition, health, and performance of tropical dairy calves. Res Vet Sci 2024; 171:105225. [PMID: 38507827 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2024.105225] [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: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
This retrospective cohort study aimed to identify risk factors for the failure of transfer of passive immunity (FPI) in preweaned dairy calves, explore its associations with morbidity, mortality, genetics, and determine a standardized cut-off point for FPI. Analyzing data from 6011 calves, factors such as sire predicted transmitted ability for milk (PTA), birth season, retained placenta (RP), total serum protein concentration (TSP), morbidity (neonatal calf diarrhea - NCD, bovine respiratory disease - BRD, tick-borne disease - TBD), mortality, and average daily weight gain (ADG) were considered. The calves were categorized into predominantly Gyr (PG) and predominantly Holstein (PH) genetic composition groups. Multivariate mixed logistic regression revealed optimal TSP cut-off points for predicting morbidity (7.6 g/dL) and mortality (6.9 g/dL). PH calves exhibited 1.35 times higher odds of FPI and 1.48 times greater odds of disease. Calves from multiparous cows and those born to dams with RP had increased FPI odds. Disease prevalence was 53%, with 41% NCD, 18% BRD, and 10% TBD. Season, parity, PTA, and birth weight were associated with disease odds, though FPI was not a reliable predictor. The mortality percentage was 6%, with PH calves and those with a positive PTA having higher odds. The ADG was 0.64 kg, and FPI-affected calves gained less weight. The study compared and identified various risk factors that potentially impact calf immunity. However, the use of a standardized cut-off point for FPI assessment was not effective in predicting morbidity and mortality at this specific farm.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Moreira
- Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Zootecnia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30161-970, Brazil
| | - F C Ferreira
- Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Tulare, CA 93274, USA; Agriculture Methane Director, Clean Air Task Force, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J P Campolina
- Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Zootecnia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30161-970, Brazil
| | - S G Coelho
- Escola de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Zootecnia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30161-970, Brazil.
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14
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Chen A, Yang Q, Ye W, Xu L, Wang Y, Sun D, Han B. Polymorphisms of CYP7A1 and HADHB Genes and Their Effects on Milk Production Traits in Chinese Holstein Cows. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1276. [PMID: 38731280 PMCID: PMC11083613 DOI: 10.3390/ani14091276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Our preliminary research proposed the cytochrome P450 family 7 subfamily A member 1 (CYP7A1) and hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase trifunctional multienzyme complex beta subunit (HADHB) genes as candidates for association with milk-production traits in dairy cattle because of their differential expression across different lactation stages in the liver tissues of Chinese Holstein cows and their potential roles in lipid metabolism. Hence, we identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the CYP7A1 and HADHB genes and validated their genetic effects on milk-production traits in a Chinese Holstein population with the goal of providing valuable genetic markers for genomic selection (GS) in dairy cattle, This study identified five SNPs, 14:g.24676921A>G, 14:g.24676224G>A, 14:g.24675708G>T, 14:g.24665961C>T, and 14:g.24664026A>G, in the CYP7A1 gene and three SNPs, 11:g.73256269T>C, 11:g.73256227A>C, and 11:g.73242290C>T, in HADHB. The single-SNP association analysis revealed significant associations (p value ≤ 0.0461) between the eight SNPs of CYP7A1 and HADHB genes and 305-day milk, fat and protein yields. Additionally, using Haploview 4.2, we found that the five SNPs of CYP7A1 formed two haplotype blocks and that the two SNPs of HADHB formed one haplotype block; notably, all three haplotype blocks were also significantly associated with milk, fat and protein yields (p value ≤ 0.0315). Further prediction of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) based on Jaspar software (version 2023) showed that the 14:g.24676921A>G, 14:g.24675708G>T, 11:g.73256269T>C, and 11:g.73256227A>C SNPs could alter the 5' terminal TFBS of the CYP7A1 and HADHB genes. The 14:g.24665961C>T SNP caused changes in the structural stability of the mRNA for the CYP7A1 gene. These alterations have the potential to influence gene expression and, consequently, the phenotype associated with milk-production traits. In summary, we have confirmed the genetic effects of CYP7A1 and HADHB genes on milk-production traits in dairy cattle and identified potential functional mutations that we suggest could be used for GS of dairy cattle and in-depth mechanistic studies of animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Chen
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
| | - Qianyu Yang
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
| | - Wen Ye
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
| | - Lingna Xu
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
| | - Yuzhan Wang
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
| | - Dongxiao Sun
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
- Beijing Jingwa Agricultural Innovation Center, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Bo Han
- Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100193, China; (A.C.); (Q.Y.); (W.Y.); (L.X.); (Y.W.); (D.S.)
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15
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Chopra K, Hodges HR, Barker ZE, Vázquez Diosdado JA, Amory JR, Cameron TC, Croft DP, Bell NJ, Thurman A, Bartlett D, Codling EA. Bunching behavior in housed dairy cows at higher ambient temperatures. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:2406-2425. [PMID: 37923206 PMCID: PMC10982438 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23931] [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: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Bunching behavior in cattle may occur for several reasons including enabling social interactions, a response to stress or danger, or due to shared interest in resources such as feeding or watering areas. There is evidence in pasture grazed cattle that bunching may occur more frequently at higher ambient temperatures, possibly due to sharing of fly-load or to seek shade from the direct sun under heat stress conditions. Here we demonstrate how bunching behavior is associated with higher ambient temperatures in a barn-housed UK dairy herd. A real-time local positioning system was used, as part of a precision livestock farming (PLF) approach, to track the spatial position and activity of a commercial dairy herd (∼100 cows) in a freestall barn continuously at high temporal resolution for 4 mo between August and November 2014. Bunching was determined using 4 different spatial measures determined on an hourly basis: herd full and core range size, mean herd intercow distance (ICD), and mean herd nearest-neighbor distance (NND). For hourly mean ambient temperatures above 20°C, the herd showed higher bunching behavior with increasing ambient temperature (i.e., reduced full and core range size, ICD, and NND). Aggregated space-use intensity was found to positively correlate with localized variations in temperature across the barn (as measured by animal-mounted sensors), but the level of correlation decreased at higher ambient barn temperatures. Bunching behavior may increase localized temperatures experienced by individuals and hence may be a maladaptive behavioral response in housed dairy cattle, which are known to suffer heat stress at higher temperatures. Our study is the first to use high-resolution positional data to provide evidence of associations between bunching behavior and higher ambient temperatures for a barn-housed dairy herd in a temperate region (UK). Further studies are needed to explore the exact mechanisms for this response to inform both welfare and production management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareemah Chopra
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom.
| | - Holly R Hodges
- Writtle University College, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3RR, United Kingdom
| | - Zoe E Barker
- Writtle University College, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3RR, United Kingdom
| | - Jorge A Vázquez Diosdado
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R Amory
- Writtle University College, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3RR, United Kingdom
| | - Tom C Cameron
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QG, United Kingdom
| | - Nick J Bell
- Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, United Kingdom
| | - Andy Thurman
- Omnisense Limited, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 6WL, United Kingdom
| | - David Bartlett
- Omnisense Limited, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 6WL, United Kingdom
| | - Edward A Codling
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom
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16
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Gebreyesus G, Secher JB, Lund MS, Kupisiewicz K, Ivask M, Hallap T, Pärn P, Su G. Genetic parameters for bull effects on in vitro embryo production (IVP) and relationship between semen quality traits and IVP performance. Anim Reprod Sci 2024; 263:107436. [PMID: 38417313 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2024.107436] [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: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
In vitro production of embryos (IVP) is increasingly applied in dairy cattle breeding and promises widespread use of females of superior genetic merits. One of the current challenges with implementation of IVP is the variability in blastocyst rates. Several factors contribute to these variabilities, among which is known to be the bull used for oocytes fertilization. The extent of genetic control of bulls' effect on IVP performances is yet to be investigated. This study estimates genetic parameters for bull effects on IVP performance traits including blastocyst rate, hatching rate and an index trait combining Blastocyst rate, Kinetic Score, and Morphology score (BL_M_K). The IVP experiments were performed using oocytes aspirated from slaughterhouse ovaries from Holstein cows, fertilized with semen from 123 Holstein bulls. A total of 77 in vitro fertilization (IVF) experiments with 163 records (different IVF groups) were available for the analysis. The results indicate low to moderate heritability and moderate to high repeatability estimates for bull effects on IVP performance traits. Our study also showed that some semen quality traits had significant effects on IVP performance. This included strong genetic correlations between pre-cryopreservation sperm viability and blastocyst rate as well as BL_M_K score at days 7 and 8. Despite the generally weak bull effect correlations and the high standard errors of the estimates, our results provide initial evidence of a measurable genetic component in the bull's impact on IVP performance traits. However, the high standard errors underscore the need for further studies with a larger sample size.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Gebreyesus
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C.F Møllers Alle 3, Aarhus DK-8000 , Denmark.
| | - J B Secher
- University of Copenhagen, Hoejbakkegaard Alle 5a, Taastrup 2630, Denmark
| | - M S Lund
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C.F Møllers Alle 3, Aarhus DK-8000 , Denmark
| | - K Kupisiewicz
- Viking Genetics, Ebeltoftvej 16, Randers DK-8960, Denmark
| | - M Ivask
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - T Hallap
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - P Pärn
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu 51014, Estonia
| | - G Su
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, C.F Møllers Alle 3, Aarhus DK-8000 , Denmark
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17
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Sitkowska B, Yüksel HM, Piwczyński D, Önder H. Heritability and genetic correlations of rumination time with milk-yield and milking traits in Holstein-Friesian cows using an automated milking system. Animal 2024; 18:101101. [PMID: 38417215 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2024.101101] [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: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of the values of genetic parameters is a prerequisite for conducting a breeding program. This is especially important for rumination, which is considered an indicator of cow's health. Exploring the genetic relations between rumination time, milk yield, and milking traits could make it a valuable tool in dairy cattle breeding strategies. The objective of the research was to estimate heritability, repeatability, and genetic and phenotypic correlations of rumination time (RT), as well as traits associated with milk yield and milking of dairy cows of the Polish Holstein-Friesian breed kept in herds equipped with an automatic milking system. The research takes into consideration daily results for milking in the first lactation and second lactation, from 1 486 cows of the breed milked between 2013 and 2015 year. Cows were housed in 24 free-stall barns and fed a Partial Mixed Ration feed. The barns had an automated milking system (Astronaut A4 - Lely Industry). The cows received a varied dose of the concentrate, either in the milking robot or the feeding station, depending on the level of their milk yield. Our research has shown that RT was a low heritable trait (0.140 ± 0.039) and had a medium repeatability (0.572 ± 0.007). We detected a positive genetic correlation between RT and milk yield (0.341); however, a statistically significant negative relationship was identified between RT and urea content (-0.418) in milk. Estimations of genetic correlations suggest that selecting for higher RT may correspond to reduced urea content in milk. Investigating the genetics aspect of RT and the relationship with milk yield and milking traits may turn this into one of the useful criterion selections for dairy cattle breeding strategies, but should be used carefully. Further analyses on larger data sets and different populations are necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Sitkowska
- Department of Animal Biotechnology and Genetics, Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
| | - H M Yüksel
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Erciyes, 38039 Kayseri, Turkiye
| | - D Piwczyński
- Department of Animal Biotechnology and Genetics, Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - H Önder
- Department of Animal Science, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun 55139, Turkiye
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18
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van Staaveren N, Rojas de Oliveira H, Houlahan K, Chud TCS, Oliveira GA, Hailemariam D, Kistemaker G, Miglior F, Plastow G, Schenkel FS, Cerri R, Sirard MA, Stothard P, Pryce J, Butty A, Stratz P, Abdalla EAE, Segelke D, Stamer E, Thaller G, Lassen J, Manzanilla-Pech CIV, Stephansen RB, Charfeddine N, García-Rodríguez A, González-Recio O, López-Paredes J, Baldwin R, Burchard J, Parker Gaddis KL, Koltes JE, Peñagaricano F, Santos JEP, Tempelman RJ, VandeHaar M, Weigel K, White H, Baes CF. The Resilient Dairy Genome Project-A general overview of methods and objectives related to feed efficiency and methane emissions. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:1510-1522. [PMID: 37690718 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-22951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The Resilient Dairy Genome Project (RDGP) is an international large-scale applied research project that aims to generate genomic tools to breed more resilient dairy cows. In this context, improving feed efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases from dairy is a high priority. The inclusion of traits related to feed efficiency (e.g., dry matter intake [DMI]) or greenhouse gases (e.g., methane emissions [CH4]) relies on available genotypes as well as high quality phenotypes. Currently, 7 countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and United States) contribute with genotypes and phenotypes including DMI and CH4. However, combining data are challenging due to differences in recording protocols, measurement technology, genotyping, and animal management across sources. In this study, we provide an overview of how the RDGP partners address these issues to advance international collaboration to generate genomic tools for resilient dairy. Specifically, we describe the current state of the RDGP database, data collection protocols in each country, and the strategies used for managing the shared data. As of February 2022, the database contains 1,289,593 DMI records from 12,687 cows and 17,403 CH4 records from 3,093 cows and continues to grow as countries upload new data over the coming years. No strong genomic differentiation between the populations was identified in this study, which may be beneficial for eventual across-country genomic predictions. Moreover, our results reinforce the need to account for the heterogeneity in the DMI and CH4 phenotypes in genomic analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nienke van Staaveren
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON N1K 1E5, Canada
| | - Kerry Houlahan
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Tatiane C S Chud
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Gerson A Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Dagnachew Hailemariam
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | | | - Filippo Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON N1K 1E5, Canada
| | - Graham Plastow
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Flavio S Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Ronaldo Cerri
- Applied Animal Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Marc Andre Sirard
- Department of Animal Sciences, Laval University, Qubec G1V 0A6, QC, Canada
| | - Paul Stothard
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Jennie Pryce
- School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia; Agriculture Victoria Research, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia
| | | | | | - Emhimad A E Abdalla
- Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. (vit), Heinrich-Schröder-Weg 1, 27283, Verden, Germany
| | - Dierck Segelke
- Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. (vit), Heinrich-Schröder-Weg 1, 27283, Verden, Germany; Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Georg Thaller
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jan Lassen
- Viking Genetics, Ebeltoftvej 16, 8960 Assentoft, Denmark
| | | | - Rasmus B Stephansen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | - Noureddine Charfeddine
- Spanish Holstein Association (CONAFE), Ctra. Andalucía km 23600 Valdemoro, 28340 Madrid, Spain
| | - Aser García-Rodríguez
- Department of Animal Production, NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, 01192 Arkaute, Spain
| | - Oscar González-Recio
- Department of Animal Breeding, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier López-Paredes
- Federación Española de Criadores de Limusín, C/Infanta Mercedes, 31, 28020 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ransom Baldwin
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705
| | | | | | - James E Koltes
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011
| | - Francisco Peñagaricano
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | | | - Robert J Tempelman
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Michael VandeHaar
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Kent Weigel
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Heather White
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Christine F Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Genetics, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
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19
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Lynch C, Schenkel FS, van Staaveren N, Miglior F, Kelton D, Baes CF. Investigating the potential for genetic selection of dairy calf disease traits using management data. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:1022-1034. [PMID: 37730178 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23780] [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: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
Genetic selection could be a tool to help improve the health and welfare of calves; however, to date, there is limited research on the genetics of calfhood diseases. This study aimed to understand the current impact of calf diseases, by investigating incidence rates, estimating genetic parameters, and providing industry recommendations to improve calf disease recording practices on farms. Available calf disease data composed of 69,695 Holstein calf disease records for respiratory problems (RESP) and diarrhea (DIAR), from 62,361 calves collected on 1,617 Canadian dairy herds from 2006 to 2021. Single- and multiple-trait analysis using both a threshold and linear animal model for each trait were evaluated. Furthermore, each trait was analyzed using 2 scenarios with respect to minimum disease incidence threshold criterion (herd-year incidence of at least 1% and 5%) to highlight the effect of different filtering thresholds on selection potential. Observed scale heritability estimates for RESP and DIAR ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 across analyses, while estimated genetic correlations between the traits ranged from 0.50 to 0.62. Sires were compared based on their estimated breeding value and their diseased daughter incidence rates. On average, calves born to the bottom 10% of sires were 1.8 times more likely to develop RESP and 1.9 times to develop DIAR compared with daughters born to the top 10% of sires. Results from the current study are promising for the inclusion of both DIAR and RESP in Canadian genetic evaluations. However, for effective genetic evaluation, standardized approaches on data collection and industry outreach to highlight the importance of collecting and uploading this information to herd management software is required. In particular, it is important that the herd management software is accessible to the national milk recording system to allow for use in national genetic evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lynch
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - F S Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - N van Staaveren
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - F Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON, N1K 1E5, Canada
| | - D Kelton
- Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - C F Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada; Institute of Genetics, Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, University of Bern, Bern, 3001, Switzerland.
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20
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Raschia MA, Maizon DO, Amadio AF, Nani JP, Poli MA. Quantitative trait loci exploration and characterization of gestation length in Holstein cattle. Theriogenology 2024; 215:43-49. [PMID: 38006854 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.11.012] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
Gestation length (GL) is a moderately heritable trait in cattle with economic and management implications. This study aimed to characterize the gestation length of an Argentinian Holstein cattle population, understand contributing factors, and explore the GL effect on production performance. Further objectives were to estimate direct and maternal heritabilities for this trait and to identify genomic regions affecting it. Data consisted of GL records from 45,738 births corresponding to 17,004 Holstein cows and heifers. The effects of age and calving season over GL were analyzed using a Student's t-test for homoscedastic samples. The effects of the GL category (GL shorter than 1.5 SD, within ±1.5 SD, and longer than 1.5 SD from the mean) on production performance were studied by analysis of variance. A single-step genome-wide association study was performed using the BLUPF90 suite of programs with genotypes from 654 Holstein animals on 40,339 SNP. The results showed that the younger the age at calving, the shorter the GL. Moreover, gestations ending in warmer seasons were, in general, statistically shorter than those ending in colder seasons for both heifers and cows. Regarding the effect of GL on production performance, cows with gestation periods within ±1.5 SD from the population mean exhibited the highest 305-day cumulative milk, fat, and protein productions. Direct and maternal heritabilities for GL were 0.42 and 0.03, respectively. We detected a SNP suggestively associated with direct gestation length at 57.7 Mb on Bos taurus autosome 18, a locus included in a region described in the literature as associated with the trait. The information obtained on the environmental and genetic factors affecting GL in Argentinian Holstein cows contributes to characterizing the population in pursuit of improving the performance of national dairy cattle breeding systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Raschia
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, CICVyA-CNIA, Instituto de Genética "Ewald A. Favret", Nicolás Repetto y de Los Reseros s/n, Hurlingham, (B1686), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - D O Maizon
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, E.E.A. Anguil, Ruta 5 Km 580, Anguil, (6326), La Pampa, Argentina
| | - A F Amadio
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, E.E.A. Rafaela, Ruta 34 Km 227, Rafaela, (S2300), Santa Fe, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina
| | - J P Nani
- ABS Global, 1525 River Rd, DeForest, WI, 53532, United States
| | - M A Poli
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, CICVyA-CNIA, Instituto de Genética "Ewald A. Favret", Nicolás Repetto y de Los Reseros s/n, Hurlingham, (B1686), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Universidad del Salvador, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Veterinaria, Champagnat 1599, B1630AHU Pilar, Campus del Pilar, Argentina
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21
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Contreras-Méndez LA, Medrano JF, Thomas MG, Enns RM, Speidel SE, Luna-Nevárez G, López-Castro PA, Rivera-Acuña F, Luna-Nevárez P. The Anti-Müllerian Hormone as Endocrine and Molecular Marker Associated with Reproductive Performance in Holstein Dairy Cows Exposed to Heat Stress. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:213. [PMID: 38254382 PMCID: PMC10812537 DOI: 10.3390/ani14020213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is proposed as a biomarker for fertility in cattle, yet this associative relationship appears to be influenced by heat stress (HS). The objective was to test serum AMH and AMH-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers potentially predictive of reproductive traits in dairy cows experiencing HS. The study included 300 Holstein cows that were genotyped using BovineSNP50 (54,000 SNP). A genome-wide association study was then executed. Nine intragenic SNPs within the pathways that influence the AMH gene were found important with multiple comparisons adjustment tests (p < 1.09 × 10-6). A further validation study was performed in an independent Holstein cattle population, which was divided into moderate (MH; n = 152) and severe heat-stressed (SH; n = 128) groups and then subjected to a summer reproductive management program. Serum AMH was confirmed as a predictor of fertility measures (p < 0.05) in MH but not in the SH group. Cows were genotyped, which revealed four SNPs as predictive markers for serum AMH (p < 0.01), reproductive traits (p < 0.01), and additional physiological variables (p < 0.05). These SNPs were in the genes AMH, IGFBP1, LGR5, and TLR4. In conclusion, serum AMH concentrations and AMH polymorphisms are proposed as predictive markers that can be used in conjunction with genomic breeding value approaches to improve reproductive performance in Holstein cows exposed to summer HS conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A. Contreras-Méndez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Juan F. Medrano
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | | | - R. Mark Enns
- Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Scott E. Speidel
- Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Guillermo Luna-Nevárez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Pedro A. López-Castro
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Fernando Rivera-Acuña
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Pablo Luna-Nevárez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
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22
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McFarland ED, Elsohaby I, Baes CF, Stryhn H, Keefe G, McClure JT. Impacts of preweaning colostrum feeding practices and health measures on dairy cow production, while accounting for genetic potential. J Anim Sci 2024; 102:skae061. [PMID: 38459921 PMCID: PMC10998465 DOI: 10.1093/jas/skae061] [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: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Calf management and health are essential for setting up the foundation of a productive cow. The objectives of this study were to estimate the impact of preweaning practices on milk production parameters while accounting for an animal's genetic potential in New Brunswick, Canada. A retrospective cohort study was performed on 220 heifer calves from eight herds born in 2014-2015. Preweaning practices and health data were recorded by producers and reviewed by the herd veterinarian for each calf. The herd veterinarian also visited the farms to collect serum samples from calves and frozen colostrum samples. The production outcomes assessed were milk, protein and fat yields, standardized to 305 d for the first lactation (L1) and a combined group of lactations two and three (L2 + 3). The genomic potential was determined as genomic parent averages (GPA) for the associated production parameters. Analysis was performed with multivariable linear (L1) and linear mixed (L2 + 3) regression models. In L1, for every 1.0 kg increase in weaning weight, milk, protein, and fat yield increased by 25.5, 0.82, and 1.01 kg, respectively (P < 0.006). Colostrum feeding time (CFT) positively impacted L1 milk and protein production, with feeding between 1-2 h of life producing the greatest estimates of 626 kg of milk and 18.2 kg of protein yield (P < 0.007), compared to earlier or later CFT. Fat yield production was decreased by 80.5 kg (P < 0.006) in L1 when evaluating animals that developed a preweaning disease and were not treated with antibiotics compared to healthy untreated animals. Impacts on L2 + 3 were similar across all production outcomes, with a positive interaction effect of CFT and weaning weight. Compared to CFT < 1 h, the later CFT groups of 1-2 h and > 2 h produced greater yield outcomes of 68.2 to 72.6 kg for milk (P < 0.006), 2.06 to 2.15 kg for protein (P < 0.005), and 1.8 to 1.9 kg for fat (P < 0.045) for every 1 kg increase of weaning weight, respectively. The fit of all models was significantly improved with the inclusion of GPA. These results indicate that colostrum management and preweaning health measures impacted production parameters as adults. The inclusion of GPA significantly improved the accuracy of the models, indicating that this can be an important parameter to include in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizah D McFarland
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3
| | - Ibrahim Elsohaby
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Christine F Baes
- Centre of Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
- Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Henrik Stryhn
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3
| | - Gregory Keefe
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3
| | - J T McClure
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3
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23
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Ule A, Erjavec K, Klopčič M. Farmers' preferences for breeding goal traits and selection indexes for Slovenian dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci 2024; 107:412-422. [PMID: 37690711 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-23202] [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: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the role played by farmers' sociodemographic factors in the characteristics of dairy farmers' breeding goals and how they are clustered in Slovenia. Understanding how farmers formulate their breeding objectives is crucial because their perspectives may diverge from those of the stakeholders engaged in selection and breeding. Involving farmers in the process of setting breeding goals can improve the use of selection tools and confidence in the selection process. For a more complete picture of how farmers view breeding work, their expectations, and the changes they would prefer to see in the future in terms of new traits and a total merit index, a mixed methods approach was used. Initially, 3 focus groups with 30 participants were conducted on the following main topics: farmers' needs and attitudes regarding genomic selection, the main barriers and advantages to adopting genomic selection, the design of a total merit index, and preferences for breeding goals. To generalize the results to the whole population, an additional online questionnaire was sent to dairy farmers affiliated with Slovenian breeding associations, with 212 farmers responding. Based on how the farmers distributed weights across the trait categories in the total merit index, a cluster analysis identifies 3 distinct groups of farmers. Milk production proved to be an important common factor for all farmers, especially production-focused ones. Functionality-focused farmers expressed the strongest preference for fertility (22%), longevity (18%), and animal health (18%), whereas resilience-focused farmers concentrated on fertility (13%), health (13%), longevity (11%), and workability (11%). Yet, the results also showed that dairy farmers hold quite similar preferences for breeding goal traits, with animal health and welfare, reproductive traits, dominating across the sample and environmental and meat traits being the least important. The quantitative analysis of the preference for new environmental traits showed that farmers express less importance to them due to pressure and negative public opinion about the environmental impact of dairy farming. The focus group participants, although acknowledging that adaptation to climate change and heat stress will be essential, were even more negative about traits related to greenhouse gas emissions, which can be attributed to negative public opinion and constraints on agricultural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Ule
- Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia
| | - K Erjavec
- Faculty of Economics and Informatics, University of Novo mesto, 8000 Novo mesto, Slovenia
| | - M Klopčič
- Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1230 Domžale, Slovenia.
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24
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Gómez-Carpio M, Cesarani A, Zullo G, Cimmino R, Neglia G, Campanile G, Biffani S. Genetic parameters for reproductive traits in the Italian Mediterranean buffalo using milk yield as a correlated trait. J Dairy Sci 2023; 106:9016-9025. [PMID: 37641333 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23257] [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: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Until now, the genetic evaluation of the Italian Mediterranean Buffalo has been mainly focused on production traits. However, female fertility affects the efficiency of the dairy industry as it is essential to maintain the profitability of dairy farms. Indeed, the estimation of its genetic component is crucial for its improvement. In this study, 3 measures of buffalo's fertility were analyzed: the age at first calving (AFC), the interval between first and second calving (CIV1), and the interval between second and successive calvings (CIV2_12). Milk yield at 270 d (MY270) was used as a correlated trait. First, genetic parameters were estimated using 7,915 buffalo cows with first calving from 1991 to 2018, then breeding values were calculated from 236,087 buffalo cows. Genetic parameters were estimated by Bayesian inference fitting a multiple-trait animal model using the GIBBS1F90 program, and BLUPF90 was used for estimation of breeding value. The heritability and repeatability estimates of fertility traits were low. The genetic correlations among fertility traits ranged from 0.10 (AFC-CIV1) to 0.92 (CIV1-CIV2_12). Genetic correlation between MY270 and fertility traits was unfavorable, ranging from 0.23 to 0.48. The results from this study can be used as a basis for the future genetic improvement of fertility traits in the Italian Mediterranean Buffaloes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gómez-Carpio
- Italian National Association of Buffalo Breeders, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - A Cesarani
- Dipartimento di Agraria, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy; Animal and Dairy Science Department, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
| | - G Zullo
- Italian National Association of Buffalo Breeders, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - R Cimmino
- Italian National Association of Buffalo Breeders, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - G Neglia
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Federico II University, 80137 Naples, Italy.
| | - G Campanile
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Federico II University, 80137 Naples, Italy
| | - S Biffani
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto di biologia e biotecnologia agraria (IBBA), 20133 Milan, Italy
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25
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Ma Z, Chang Y, Brito LF, Li Y, Yang T, Wang Y, Yang N. Multitrait meta-analyses identify potential candidate genes for growth-related traits in Holstein heifers. J Dairy Sci 2023; 106:9055-9070. [PMID: 37641329 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23462] [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: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the underlying pleiotropic relationships among growth and body size traits is important for refining breeding strategies in dairy cattle for optimal body size and growth rate. Therefore, we performed single-trait GWAS for monthly-recorded body weight (BW), hip height, body length, and chest girth from birth to 12 mo of age in Holstein animals, followed by stepwise multiple regression of independent or lowly-linked markers from GWAS loci using conditional and joint association analyses (COJO). Subsequently, we conducted a multitrait meta-analysis to detect pleiotropic markers. Based on the single-trait GWAS, we identified 170 significant SNPs, in which 59 of them remained significant after the COJO analyses. The most significant SNP, located at BTA7:3,676,741, explained 2.93% of the total phenotypic variance for BW6 (BW at 6 mo of age). We identified 17 SNPs with potential pleiotropic effects based on the multitrait meta-analyses, which resulted in 3 additional SNPs in comparison to those detected based on the single-trait GWAS. The identified quantitative trait loci regions overlap with genes known to influence human growth-related traits. According to positional and functional analyses, we proposed HMGA2, HNF4G, MED13L, BHLHE40, FRZB, DMP1, TRIB3, and GATAD2A as important candidate genes influencing the studied traits. The combination of single-trait GWAS and meta-analyses of GWAS results improved the efficiency of detecting associated SNPs, and provided new insights into the genetic mechanisms of growth and development in Holstein cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Ma
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China; Beijing Sunlon Livestock Development Co. Ltd., 100029, Beijing, China
| | - Y Chang
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Luiz F Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
| | - Y Li
- Beijing Sunlon Livestock Development Co. Ltd., 100029, Beijing, China
| | - T Yang
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China
| | - Y Wang
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China.
| | - N Yang
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193, Beijing, China.
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Kovalchuk SN, Arkhipova AL. Development of TaqMan PCR assay for genotyping SNP rs211250281 of the bovine agpat6 gene. Anim Biotechnol 2023; 34:3250-3255. [PMID: 35635030 DOI: 10.1080/10495398.2022.2077742] [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] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Milk fat percentage is an important production trait of dairy cattle and is one of the goals of breeding programs. Over 95% of the milk fat accounts for triacylglycerols. AGPAT6 (1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase 6) catalyzes an intermediary step of triglyceride synthesis in the mammary cells. Genome-wide association studies identified SNP rs211250281 (g27: 36520069 G/T) in the agpat6 gene associated with milk fat content and fat-to-protein ratio in dairy cattle. The article presents data on the development of TaqMan PCR assay for genotyping SNP rs211250281 of the bovine agpat6 gene. In this method, a primer pair, initiating amplification of 75-bp fragments of the agpat6 gene, and two allele-specific TaqMan probes are used. Identification of the G and T alleles is based on a comparison of the final fluorescence intensity of FAM and VIC dyes, respectively. The developed TaqMan PCR assay was validated by Sanger sequencing method. The results of both methods fully coincided, that confirmed high accuracy of the developed TaqMan PCR assay. This reliable, simple, rapid, and high-throughput method could be a suitable tool for studying the distribution of the SNP rs211250281 among different cattle breeds and its association with milk fat content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana N Kovalchuk
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Innovative Biotechnologies in Animal Husbandry - the branch of L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anna L Arkhipova
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Innovative Biotechnologies in Animal Husbandry - the branch of L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry, Moscow, Russia
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27
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Frizzarin M, Miglior F, Berry DP, Gormley IC, Baes CF. Usefulness of mid-infrared spectroscopy as a tool to estimate body condition score change from milk samples in intensively fed dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 2023; 106:9115-9124. [PMID: 37641249 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2023-23290] [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: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Directly measuring individual cow energy balance is not trivial. Other traits such as body condition score (BCS) and BCS change (ΔBCS) can, however, be used as an indicator of cow energy status. Body condition score is a metric used worldwide to estimate cow body reserves, but the estimation of ΔBCS was, until now, conditional on the availability of multiple BCS assessments. The aim of the present study was to estimate ΔBCS from milk mid-infrared (MIR) spectra and days in milk (DIM) in intensively fed dairy cows using statistical prediction methods. Daily BCS was interpolated from cubic splines fitted through the BCS records and daily ΔBCS was calculated from these splines. The ΔBCS records were merged with milk MIR spectra recorded on the same week. The dataset comprised 37,077 ΔBCS phenotypes across 9,403 lactations from 6,988 cows in 151 herds based in Quebec, Canada. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and a neural network (NN) were then used to estimate ΔBCS from (1) MIR spectra only, (2) DIM only, or (3) MIR spectra and DIM together. The ΔBCS data in both the first 120 and 305 DIM of lactation were used to develop the estimates. Daily ΔBCS had a standard deviation of 4.40 × 10-3 BCS units in the 120-d dataset and of 3.63 × 10-3 BCS units in the 305-d dataset. A 4-fold cross-validation was used to calibrate and test the prediction equations. External validation was also conducted using more recent years of data. Irrespective of whether based on the first 120 or 305 DIM, or when MIR spectra only, DIM only or MIR spectra and DIM were jointly used as prediction variables, NN produced the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) of cross-validation (1.81 × 10-3 BCS units and 1.51 × 10-3 BCS units, respectively, using the 120-d and 305-d dataset). Relative to predictions for the entire 305 DIM, the RMSE of cross-validation was 15.4% and 1.5% lower in the first 120 DIM when using PLSR and NN, respectively. Predictions from DIM only were more accurate than those using just MIR spectra data but, irrespective of the dataset and of the prediction model used, combining DIM information with MIR spectral data as prediction variables reduced the RMSE compared with the inclusion of DIM alone, albeit the benefit was small (the RMSE from cross-validation reduced by up to 5.5% when DIM and spectral data were jointly used as model features instead of DIM only). However, when predicting extreme ΔBCS records, the MIR spectral data were more informative than DIM. Model performance when predicting ΔBCS records in future years was similar to that from cross-validation demonstrating the ability of MIR spectra of milk and DIM combined to estimate ΔBCS, particularly in early lactation. This can be used to routinely generate estimates of ΔBCS to aid in day-to-day individual cow management.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Frizzarin
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, Dublin, D04 V1W8, Ireland; Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, P61 P302, Co. Cork, Ireland
| | - F Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON, N1K 1E5, Canada
| | - D P Berry
- Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, P61 P302, Co. Cork, Ireland
| | - I C Gormley
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin, Dublin, D04 V1W8, Ireland
| | - C F Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada; Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Genetics, University of Bern, Bern, 3002, Switzerland.
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Xu C, Xie J, Ji F, Peng W, Song Y, Diao X, Wu H. Supplementation of dietary semen vaccariae extracts to lactating sow diets: effects on the production performance, milk components, and gene expression related to mammogenesis. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1284552. [PMID: 38026663 PMCID: PMC10666067 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1284552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary semen vaccariae extracts (SVE) on the production performance, colostrum components, and relative gene expression related to mammogenesis of lactating sows. 48 pregnant sows were selected and randomly allocated into four groups, with six replicates and two sows per replicate. The first group was the control (CON), while the other groups received the same diet further supplemented with 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 g SVE per kg (SV1, SV2 and SV3, respectively). Compared with the control group, (1) the average daily gain was increased (p < 0.05) in SV1, SV2, and SV3 during the 11-21 days and 1-21 days of lactation; (2) the serum insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, prolactin, and estrogen contents in SV1, SV2, and SV3 were increased (p < 0.05) on the 1st and 21st day of lactation; (3) The plasma Lysine, Threonine, and Tryptophan concentrations were also higher (p < 0.05) in SV1, SV2, and SV3 on the 1st and 21st day of lactation; (4) The milk Lysine, Methionine, Threonine, and Tryptophan concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) in SV1, SV2, and SV3 on the 1st and 21st day of lactation; (5) The milk lactose ratio and milk protein content were increased (p < 0.05) in the groups treated with semen vaccariae on the 1st day of lactation, while the milkfat ratio and milk protein content were increased (p < 0.05) in SV2 and SV3 on the 21st day of lactation; (6) the immunoglobulin M, A, and G contents were increased (p < 0.05) in the groups treated with the semen vaccariae on the first day of lactation; and (7) the relative PRLR, STAT5a, FcRn, CSN2, and LALBA expressions were higher (p < 0.05) in the groups treated with the semen vaccariae on the 1st and 21st day of lactation. In this study, the optimum dosage was 3.0 g/kg semen vaccariae, which increased the average daily gain of piglets, total lactation yield, and serum hormone levels, improved the amino acid levels in plasma, and facilitated the milk quality, up-regulated the relative gene expressions in the mammogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaohua Xu
- Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Jiajun Xie
- Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Fengjie Ji
- Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
- Zhanjiang Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Weiqi Peng
- Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
- Zhanjiang Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang, China
| | - Yuzhuo Song
- Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Shijiazhuang Information Engineering Vocational College, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Xinping Diao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Hongzhi Wu
- Tropical Crop Genetic Resource Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, China
- Zhanjiang Experimental Station, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Zhanjiang, China
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Agerholm JS, Madsen SE, Krogh AKH, Najafzadeh V, Secher JBM. Health assessment of Holstein calves born after in vitro fertilization, biopsy-based genotyping at the blastocyst stage and subsequent embryo transfer. Theriogenology 2023; 211:76-83. [PMID: 37595376 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.08.005] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Establishing methods for evaluating genomic estimated breeding values of bovine embryos can potentially increase the efficiency of breeding programs by transferring only embryos with a high genomic estimated breeding value. This may be achieved by analyzing DNA from trophectoderm biopsies. However, manipulation of bovine embryos is associated with a risk of impaired conceptus health. More knowledge on the health implications of embryonic handling procedures is required. In this study, we followed pregnancies after transfer of in vitro-produced (IVP) embryos and assessed the health of the offspring during the first 2 weeks of life. Three groups of calves were studied: i) freshly transferred non-biopsied embryos (39 transfers, 17 calves; Group B-/C-); ii) biopsied and freshly transferred IVP embryos (42 transfers, 21 calves; Group B+/C-); iii) biopsied and cryopreserved IVP embryos (17 transfers, 6 calves; Group B+/C+). Blood biochemical and hematologic values were compared between groups and to a control group of 13 calves produced by conventional artificial insemination. The pregnancy rate on day 50 and the calving rate did not differ among the groups, but the average gestation length of the B+/C+ group was significantly shorter and with wider variation than the two other groups. There was a tendency toward a higher average body weight at birth in group B+/C+ (45.1 kg) and the standard deviation in body weight was larger (11.7 kg) compared to the B-/C- (39.5 kg; 3.2 kg) and B+/C- (41.8 kg; 6 kg) groups. Body weight on day 14 was higher in the B+/C+ calves compared to the other groups. There was no difference in the biochemical and hematological values at birth between the groups and these were within the normal range. However, when compared to a group of calves produced by standard artificial insemination, significantly higher concentrations were found for the hepatic-related enzymes ALAT, ASAT, ALP, and GGT in group B-/C-and B+/C-, while only higher ALP concentrations were found in B+/C+ calves. The biochemical findings indicate higher heterogeneity in IVP calves compared to calves produced by artificial insemination. The more manipulated IVP embryos also showed increased heterogeneity in body weight at birth, with a shift toward heavier calves, which calls for closer attendance at parturition to handle dystocia in a timely manner and minimize fetal losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jørgen Steen Agerholm
- Section for Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Højbakkegaard Allé 5A, 2630, Taastrup, Denmark.
| | | | - Anne Kirstine Havnsøe Krogh
- Section for Medicine, Oncology and Veterinary Clinical Pathology, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 16, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Vahid Najafzadeh
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
| | - Jan Bojsen-Møller Secher
- Section for Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Højbakkegaard Allé 5A, 2630, Taastrup, Denmark.
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30
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Martens H. Invited Review: Increasing Milk Yield and Negative Energy Balance: A Gordian Knot for Dairy Cows? Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3097. [PMID: 37835703 PMCID: PMC10571806 DOI: 10.3390/ani13193097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The continued increase in milk production during the last century has not been accompanied by an adequate dry matter intake (DMI) by cows, which therefore experience a negative energy balance (NEB). NEB is low and of minor importance at low milk yield (MY), such as for the nutrition of one calf, and under these circumstances is considered "natural". MY and low DMI around parturition are correlated and are the reason for the genetic correlation between increasing MY and increasing NEB up to 2000 MJ or more for 2-3 months postpartum in high-genetic-merit dairy cows. The extension and duration of NEB in high-producing cows cannot be judged as "natural" and are compensated by the mobilization of nutrients, particularly of fat. The released non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) overwhelm the metabolic capacity of the cow and lead to the ectopic deposition of NEFAs as triglycerides (TGs) in the liver. The subsequent lipidosis and the concomitant hampered liver functions cause subclinical and clinical ketosis, both of which are associated with "production diseases", including oxidative and endoplasmatic stress, inflammation and immunosuppression. These metabolic alterations are regulated by homeorhesis, with the priority of the physiological function of milk production. The prioritization of one function, namely, milk yield, possibly results in restrictions in other physiological (health) functions under conditions of limited resources (NEB). The hormonal framework for this metabolic environment is the high concentration of growth hormone (GH), the low concentration of insulin in connection with GH-dependent insulin resistance and the low concentration of IGF-1, the so-called GH-IGF-1 axis. The fine tuning of the GH-IGF-1 axis is uncoupled because the expression of the growth hormone receptor (GHR-1A) in the liver is reduced with increasing MY. The uncoupled GH-IGF-1 axis is a serious impairment for the GH-dependent stimulation of gluconeogenesis in the liver with continued increased lipolysis in fat tissue. It facilitates the pathogenesis of lipidosis with ketosis and, secondarily, "production diseases". Unfortunately, MY is still increasing at inadequate DMI with increasing NEB and elevated NEFA and beta-hydroxybutyric acid concentrations under conditions of low glucose, thereby adding health risks. The high incidences of diseases and of early culling and mortality in dairy cows are well documented and cause severe economic problems with a waste of resources and a challenge to the environment. Moreover, the growing public concerns about such production conditions in agriculture can no longer be ignored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Martens
- Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Free University of Berlin, Oertzenweg 19b, 14163 Berlin, Germany
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31
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Guo L, DaoLema, Liu B, Dai L, Wang X, Wang X, Cao J, Zhang W. Identification of milk-related genes and regulatory networks in Bactrian camel either supplemented or under grazing. Trop Anim Health Prod 2023; 55:342. [PMID: 37776405 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-023-03749-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023]
Abstract
Using gene co-expression networks to understand dynamic characterizations in lactating animals becomes a common method. However, there are rarely reporters focusing on milk traits in Bactrian camel by high-throughput sequencing. We used RNA-seq to generate the camel transcriptome from the blood of 16 lactating Alxa Bactrian camel in different feeding groups. In total, we obtained 1185 milk-related genes correlated with milk yield, milk protein, milk fat, and milk lactose across the WGCNA analysis. Moreover, 364 milk-related genes were differentially expressed between supplementation and grazing feeding groups. The differential expression-camel milk-related genes CMRGs (DE-CMRGs) in supplement direct an intensive gene co-expression network to improve milk performance in lactating camels. This study provides a non-invasive method to identify the camel milk-related genes in camel blood for four primary milk traits and valuable theoretical basis and research ideas for the study of the milk performance regulation mechanism of camelid animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Guo
- Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Genomic Big Data for Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
- College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - DaoLema
- Bactrian Camel Institute of Alsha, Inner Mongolia, 16 Tuerhute Road, Bayanhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Bin Liu
- Inner Mongolia Bionew Technology Co., Ltd., Hohhot, China
| | - Lingli Dai
- Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Genomic Big Data for Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
- College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Xue Wang
- Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Genomic Big Data for Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
- College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Xiaoshan Wang
- Bactrian Camel Institute of Alsha, Inner Mongolia, 16 Tuerhute Road, Bayanhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Junwei Cao
- College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
| | - Wenguang Zhang
- Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Genomic Big Data for Agriculture, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
- College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
- College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
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32
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Madilindi MA, Zishiri OT, Dube B, Banga CB. Genetic parameter estimates for daily predicted gross feed efficiency and its association with energy-corrected milk in South African Holstein cattle. Trop Anim Health Prod 2023; 55:339. [PMID: 37770720 PMCID: PMC10539442 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-023-03741-x] [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: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Genetic parameters for daily predicted gross feed efficiency (pGFE) and energy corrected milk (ECM) in the first three parities of South African Holstein cattle were estimated by repeatability animal models. Data comprised of 11,068 test-day milk production records of 1,575 Holstein cows that calved between 2009 and 2019. Heritability estimates for pGFE were 0.12 ± 0.06, 0.09 ± 0.04 and 0.18 ± 0.05 in early, mid and late lactation, respectively. Estimates were moderate for primiparous (0.21 ± 0.05) and low for multiparous (0.10 ± 0.04) cows. Heritability and repeatability across all lactations were 0.14 ± 0.03 and 0.37 ± 0.03, respectively. Genetic correlations between pGFE in different stages of lactation ranged from 0.87 ± 0.24 (early and mid) to 0.97 ± 0.28 (early and late), while a strong genetic correlation (0.90 ± 0.03) was found between pGFE and ECM, across all lactations. The low to moderate heritability estimates for pGFE suggest potential for genetic improvement of the trait through selection, albeit with a modest accuracy of selection. The high genetic correlation of pGFE with ECM may, however, assist to improve accuracy of selection for feed efficiency by including both traits in multi-trait analyses. These genetic parameters may be used to estimate breeding values for pGFE, which will enable the trait to be incorporated in the breeding objective for South African Holstein cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matome A Madilindi
- Discipline of Genetics, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
- ARC-Animal Production, Private Bag X2, Irene, 0062, South Africa.
| | - Oliver T Zishiri
- Discipline of Genetics, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa
| | - Bekezela Dube
- ARC-Animal Production, Private Bag X2, Irene, 0062, South Africa
| | - Cuthbert B Banga
- Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
- Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, South Africa
- Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana
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Goldman IL, Wang Y, Alfaro AV, Brainard S, Oravec MW, McGregor CE, van der Knaap E. Form and contour: breeding and genetics of organ shape from wild relatives to modern vegetable crops. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1257707. [PMID: 37841632 PMCID: PMC10568141 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1257707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Shape is a primary determinant of consumer preference for many horticultural crops and it is also associated with many aspects of marketing, harvest mechanics, and postharvest handling. Perceptions of quality and preference often map to specific shapes of fruits, tubers, leaves, flowers, roots, and other plant organs. As a result, humans have greatly expanded the palette of shapes available for horticultural crops, in many cases creating a series of market classes where particular shapes predominate. Crop wild relatives possess organs shaped by natural selection, while domesticated species possess organs shaped by human desires. Selection for visually-pleasing shapes in vegetable crops resulted from a number of opportunistic factors, including modification of supernumerary cambia, allelic variation at loci that control fundamental processes such as cell division, cell elongation, transposon-mediated variation, and partitioning of photosynthate. Genes that control cell division patterning may be universal shape regulators in horticultural crops, influencing the form of fruits, tubers, and grains in disparate species. Crop wild relatives are often considered less relevant for modern breeding efforts when it comes to characteristics such as shape, however this view may be unnecessarily limiting. Useful allelic variation in wild species may not have been examined or exploited with respect to shape modifications, and newly emergent information on key genes and proteins may provide additional opportunities to regulate the form and contour of vegetable crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irwin L. Goldman
- Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Yanbing Wang
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Andrey Vega Alfaro
- Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Scott Brainard
- Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Madeline W. Oravec
- Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Cecilia Elizabeth McGregor
- Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Esther van der Knaap
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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Baba T, Morota G, Kawakami J, Gotoh Y, Oka T, Masuda Y, Brito LF, Cockrum RR, Kawahara T. Longitudinal genome-wide association analysis using a single-step random regression model for height in Japanese Holstein cattle. JDS COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 4:363-368. [PMID: 37727246 PMCID: PMC10505781 DOI: 10.3168/jdsc.2022-0347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Growth traits, such as body weight and height, are essential in the design of genetic improvement programs of dairy cattle due to their relationship with feeding efficiency, longevity, and health. We investigated genomic regions influencing height across growth stages in Japanese Holstein cattle using a single-step random regression model. We used 72,921 records from birth to 60 mo of age with 4,111 animals born between 2000 and 2016. The analysis included 1,410 genotyped animals with 35,319 single nucleotide polymorphisms, consisting of 883 females with records and 527 bulls, and 30,745 animals with pedigree information. A single genomic region at the 58.4 megabase pair on chromosome 18 was consistently identified across 6 age points of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 mo after multiple testing corrections for the significance threshold. Twelve candidate genes, previously reported for longevity and gestation length, were found near the identified genomic region. Another location near the identified region was also previously associated with body conformation, fertility, and calving difficulty. Functional Gene Ontology enrichment analysis suggested that the candidate genes regulate dephosphorylation and phosphatase activity. Our findings show that further study of the identified candidate genes will contribute to a better understanding of the genetic basis of height in Japanese Holstein cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshimi Baba
- Holstein Cattle Association of Japan, Hokkaido Branch, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 001-8555
- School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Gota Morota
- School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Junpei Kawakami
- Holstein Cattle Association of Japan, Hokkaido Branch, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 001-8555
| | - Yusaku Gotoh
- Holstein Cattle Association of Japan, Hokkaido Branch, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 001-8555
| | - Taro Oka
- Holstein Cattle Association of Japan, Tokyo, Japan 164-0012
| | - Yutaka Masuda
- Department of Sustainable Agriculture, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan 069-8501
| | - Luiz F. Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
| | - Rebbeca R. Cockrum
- School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Takayoshi Kawahara
- Holstein Cattle Association of Japan, Hokkaido Branch, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 001-8555
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35
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Alves K, Brito LF, Schenkel FS. Genomic prediction of fertility and calving traits in Holstein cattle based on models including epistatic genetic effects. J Anim Breed Genet 2023; 140:568-581. [PMID: 37254293 DOI: 10.1111/jbg.12810] [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: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate whether the inclusion of genomic information and epistatic (additive by additive) genetic effects would increase the accuracy of predicting phenotypes adjusted for known environmental effects, reduce prediction bias and minimize the confounding between additive and additive by additive epistatic effects on fertility and calving traits in Holstein cattle. Phenotypic and genotypic records were available for 6090 cows. Eight cow traits were assessed including 56-day nonreturn rate (NRR), number of services (NS), calving to first insemination (CTFS), first insemination to conception (FSTC), gestation length (GL), calving ease (CE), stillbirth (SB) and calf size (CZ). Four scenarios were assessed for their ability to predict adjusted phenotypes, which included: (1) traditional pedigree-based Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (P-BLUP) for additive genetic effects (PA); (2) P-BLUP for additive and epistatic (additive by additive) genetic effects (PAE); (3) genomic BLUP (G-BLUP) for additive genetic effects (GA); and (4) G-BLUP for additive and epistatic genetic effects (GAEn, where n = 1-3 depending on the alternative ways to construct the epistatic genomic matrix used). Constructing epistatic relationship matrix as the Hadamard product of the additive genomic relationship matrix (GAE1), which is the usual method and implicitly assumes a model that fits all pairwise interactions between markers twice and includes the interactions of the markers with themselves (dominance). Two additional constructions of the epistatic genomic relationship matrix were compared to test whether removing the double counting of interactions and the interaction of the markers with themselves (GAE2), and removing double counting of interactions between markers, but including the interaction of the markers with themselves (GAE3) would had an impact on the prediction and estimation error correlation (i.e. confounding) between additive and epistatic genetic effects. Fitting epistatic genetic effects explained up to 5.7% of the variance for NRR (GAE3), 7.7% for NS (GAE1), 11.9% for CTFS (GAE3), 11.1% for FSTC (GAE2), 25.7% for GL (GAE1), 2.3% for CE (GAE1), 14.3% for SB (GAE3) and 15.2% for CZ (GAE1). Despite a substantial proportion of variance being explained by epistatic effects for some traits, the prediction accuracies were similar or lower for GAE models compared with pedigree models and genomic models without epistatic effects. Although the prediction accuracy of direct genomic values did not change significantly between the three variations of the epistatic genetic relationship matrix used, removing the interaction of the markers with themselves reduced the confounding between additive and additive by additive epistatic effects. These results suggest that epistatic genetic effects contribute to the variance of some fertility and calving traits in Holstein cattle. However, the inclusion of epistatic genetic effects in the genomic prediction of these traits is complex and warrant further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Alves
- Center for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Luiz F Brito
- Center for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Flavio S Schenkel
- Center for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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36
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de Souza TC, Pinto LFB, da Cruz VAR, de Oliveira HR, Pedrosa VB, Oliveira GA, Miglior F, Schenkel FS, Brito LF. A comprehensive characterization of longevity and culling reasons in Canadian Holstein cattle based on various systematic factors. Transl Anim Sci 2023; 7:txad102. [PMID: 37841322 PMCID: PMC10576516 DOI: 10.1093/tas/txad102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The decision of premature culling cows directly impacts the profitability of dairy farms. A comprehensive characterization of the primary causes of culling reasons would greatly improve both management and selection objectives in dairy cattle breeding programs. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the temporal frequencies of 34 culling reasons in Canadian Holstein cows. After data editing and quality control, records from 3,096,872 cows culled from 9,683 herds spread across Canada were used for the analyses covering the periods from 1996 to 2020. Reproductive issues were the main culling reason accounting for 23.02%, followed by milk production (20.82%), health (20.39%), conformation problems (13.69%), economic factors (13.10%), accidents (5.67%), age-related causes (1.67%), and workability (1.63%). Nearly fifty-eight percent of cows were culled after 47 months of age. The observed frequencies of culling due to economic factors were lower than expected from 1996 to 2014 and higher than expected between 2015 and 2020. Reproduction issues had the highest culling frequencies during fall (24.54%), winter (24.02%), and spring (22.51%), while health issues were the most frequent (22.51%) culling reason in the summer season. Health issues (25.50%) and milk production (27.71%) were the most frequent culling reasons in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, respectively. Reproductive issues showed the highest frequency across climates based on the Köppen climate classification, except for Csb (Dry-summer subtropical or Mediterranean climate) and Bsk (Middle latitude steppe climate), which correspond to small regions in Canada, where production was the most frequent culling reason (29.42% and 21.56%, respectively). Reproductive and milk performance issues were the two main culling reasons in most ecozones, except in Boreal Shield and Atlantic Marine, where health issues had the highest frequencies (25.12 and 23.75%, respectively). These results will contribute to improving management practices and selective decisions to reduce involuntary culling of Holstein cows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taiana Cortez de Souza
- Department of Animal Sciences, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | | | | | - Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | | | - Gerson A Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Filippo Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
- Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Flávio S Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Luiz F Brito
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
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37
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Banos G. Selective breeding can contribute to bovine tuberculosis control and eradication. Ir Vet J 2023; 76:19. [PMID: 37620894 PMCID: PMC10464393 DOI: 10.1186/s13620-023-00250-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) persists in many countries having a significant impact on public health and livestock industry finances. The incidence and prevalence of new cases in parts of the UK and elsewhere over the past decades warrant intensified efforts towards achieving Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) status in the respective regions. Genetic selection aiming to identify and remove inherently susceptible animals from breeding has been proposed as an additional measure in ongoing programmes towards controlling the disease. The presence of genetic variation among individual animals in their capacity to respond to Mycobacterium bovis exposure has been documented and heritability estimates of 0.06-0.18 have been reported. Despite their moderate magnitude, these estimates suggest that host resistance to bTB is amenable to improvement with selective breeding. Although relatively slow, genetic progress can be constant, cumulative and permanent, thereby complementing ongoing disease control measures. Importantly, mostly no antagonistic genetic correlations have been found between bTB resistance and other animal traits suggesting that carefully incorporating the former in breeding decisions should not adversely affect bovine productivity. Simulation studies have demonstrated the potential impact of genetic selection on reducing the probability of a breakdown to occur or the duration and severity of a breakdown that has already been declared. Furthermore, research on the bovine genome has identified multiple genomic markers and genes associated with bTB resistance. Nevertheless, the combined outcomes of these studies suggest that host resistance to bTB is a complex, polygenic trait, with no single gene alone explaining the inherent differences between resistant and susceptible animals. Such results support the development of accurate genomic breeding values that duly capture the collective effect of multiple genes to underpin selective breeding programmes. In addition to improving host resistance to bTB, scientists and practitioners have considered the possibility of reducing host infectivity. Ongoing studies have suggested the presence of genetic variation for infectivity and confirmed that bTB eradication would be accelerated if selective breeding considered both host resistance and infectivity traits. In conclusion, research activity on bTB genetics has generated knowledge and insights to support selective breeding as an additional measure towards controlling and eradicating the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Banos
- Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, UK.
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38
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Liu X, Mi S, Li W, Zhang J, Augustino SMA, Zhang Z, Zhang R, Xiao W, Yu Y. Molecular regulatory mechanism of key LncRNAs in subclinical mastitic cows with folic acid supplementation. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:464. [PMID: 37592228 PMCID: PMC10436419 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09466-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin (B9), which is closely related to the body's immune and other metabolic pathways. The folic acid synthesized by rumen microbes has been unable to meet the needs of high-yielding dairy cows. The incidence rate of subclinical mastitis in dairy herds worldwide ranged between 25%~65% with no obvious symptoms, but it significantly causes a decrease in lactation and milk quality. Therefore, this study aims at exploring the effects of folic acid supplementation on the expression profile of lncRNAs, exploring the molecular mechanism by which lncRNAs regulate immunity in subclinical mastitic dairy cows. RESULTS The analysis identified a total of 4384 lncRNA transcripts. Subsequently, differentially expressed lncRNAs in the comparison of two groups (SF vs. SC, HF vs. HC) were identified to be 84 and 55 respectively. Furthermore, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and the KEGG enrichment analysis result showed that folic acid supplementation affects inflammation and immune response-related pathways. The two groups have few pathways in common. One important lncRNA MSTRG.11108.1 and its target genes (ICAM1, CCL3, CCL4, etc.) were involved in immune-related pathways. Finally, through integrated analysis of lncRNAs with GWAS data and animal QTL database, we found that differential lncRNA and its target genes could be significantly enriched in SNPs and QTLs related to somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis, such as MSTRG.11108.1 and its target gene ICAM1, CXCL3, GRO1. CONCLUSIONS For subclinical mastitic cows, folic acid supplementation can significantly affect the expression of immune-related pathway genes such as ICAM1 by regulating lncRNAs MSTRG.11108.1, thereby affecting related immune phenotypes. Our findings laid a ground foundation for theoretical and practical application for feeding folic acid supplementation in subclinical mastitic cows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Siyuan Mi
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Wenlong Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jinning Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Serafino M A Augustino
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
- School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Juba, P. O. Box 82, Juba, South Sudan
| | - Zhichao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Ruiqiang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Wei Xiao
- Beijing Animal Husbandry Station, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Ying Yu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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Radzikowski D, Kalińska A, Kot M, Jaworski S, Wierzbicki M, Gołębiewski M. In Vitro Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Properties of Nanoparticles as New Agents Used in Teat Sealants for Mastitis Prevention in Dry Cows. Biomedicines 2023; 11:2291. [PMID: 37626787 PMCID: PMC10452312 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11082291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Mastitis prevention and treatment in dry cows are complex issues with limited solutions. The most common is intramammary antibiotic treatment. However, the effectiveness of this treatment varies among countries and even within herds in the same region. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new strategies for dry cow therapy. Metal nanoparticles (NPs), which have strong biocidal properties for treating diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and algae, are increasingly used to reduce antibiotic use. In this study, AuNPs, CuNPs, AgNPs, PtNPs, NP-FeCs, and their triple complexes were used at different concentrations to evaluate their practical use in treating cows during their dry period. The nanoparticles were in hydrocolloid form and were added separately to form a mixture with beeswax, a mixture with oil, or a mixture based on vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. The NPs' concentrations were 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 ppm. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi isolated from cows diagnosed with mastitis were used to determine pathogen viability. The results indicated that AuNPs, CuNPs, AgNPs, and their complexes show biocidal properties against mastitis pathogens. AgNPs at 5 ppm had the strongest biocidal properties and reduced Streptococcus agalactiae's survival rate by 50%; however, the nanoparticle complexes showed poor synergism. The strongest biocidal properties of NPs in wax and in glycerin mixed with glycol were shown against Escherichia coli. Additionally, low nanoparticle concentrations showed no cytotoxicity for BME-UV1 bovine cells, suggesting that these mixtures might be used for further in vivo testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Radzikowski
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland; (A.K.); (M.K.)
| | - Aleksandra Kalińska
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland; (A.K.); (M.K.)
| | - Magdalena Kot
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland; (A.K.); (M.K.)
| | - Sławomir Jaworski
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland (M.W.)
| | - Mateusz Wierzbicki
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland (M.W.)
| | - Marcin Gołębiewski
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland; (A.K.); (M.K.)
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40
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Yardibi F, Chen C, Fırat M, Karacaören B, Süzen E. The trend of breeding value research in animal science: bibliometric analysis. Arch Anim Breed 2023; 66:163-181. [PMID: 37727578 PMCID: PMC10506504 DOI: 10.5194/aab-66-163-2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aims to identify trends and hot topics in breeding value to support researchers in finding new directions for future research in that area. The data of this study consist of 7072 academic studies on breeding value in the Web of Science database. Network visualizations and in-depth bibliometric analysis were performed on cited references, authors, countries, institutions, journals, and keywords through CiteSpace. VanRaden (2008) is the most cited work and has an essential place in the field. The most prolific writer is Ignacy Misztal. While the most productive country in breeding value studies is the United States, the People's Republic of China is an influential country that has experienced a strong citation burst in the last 3 years. The National Institute for Agricultural Research and Wageningen University are important institutions that play a critical role in connecting other institutions. Also, these two institutions have the highest centrality values. "Genomic prediction" is the outstanding sub-study field in the active clusters appearing in the analysis results. We have summarized the literature on breeding value, including publication information, country, institution, author, and journal. We can say that hot topics today are "genome-wide association", "feed efficiency", and "genomic prediction". While the studies conducted in the past years have focused on economic value and accuracy, the studies conducted in recent years have started to be studies that consider technological developments and changing world conditions such as global warming and carbon emission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatma Yardibi
- Department of Animal Science, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Chaomei Chen
- College of Computing and Informatics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Burak Karacaören
- Department of Animal Science, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Esra Süzen
- Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
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41
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Cheng Z, Ferris C, Crowe MA, Ingvartsen KL, Grelet C, Vanlierde A, Foldager L, Becker F, Wathes DC. Hepatic Global Transcriptomic Profiles of Holstein Cows According to Parity Reveal Age-Related Changes in Early Lactation. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:9906. [PMID: 37373054 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24129906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cows can live for over 20 years, but their productive lifespan averages only around 3 years after first calving. Liver dysfunction can reduce lifespan by increasing the risk of metabolic and infectious disease. This study investigated the changes in hepatic global transcriptomic profiles in early lactation Holstein cows in different lactations. Cows from five herds were grouped as primiparous (lactation number 1, PP, 534.7 ± 6.9 kg, n = 41), or multiparous with lactation numbers 2-3 (MP2-3, 634.5 ± 7.5 kg, n = 87) or 4-7 (MP4-7, 686.6 ± 11.4 kg, n = 40). Liver biopsies were collected at around 14 days after calving for RNA sequencing. Blood metabolites and milk yields were measured, and energy balance was calculated. There were extensive differences in hepatic gene expression between MP and PP cows, with 568 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between MP2-3 and PP cows, and 719 DEGs between MP4-7 and PP cows, with downregulated DEGs predominating in MP cows. The differences between the two age groups of MP cows were moderate (82 DEGs). The gene expression differences suggested that MP cows had reduced immune functions compared with the PP cows. MP cows had increased gluconeogenesis but also evidence of impaired liver functionality. The MP cows had dysregulated protein synthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism, and impaired genome and RNA stability and nutrient transport (22 differentially expressed solute carrier transporters). The genes associated with cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and the production of antimicrobial peptides were upregulated. More surprisingly, evidence of hepatic inflammation leading to fibrosis was present in the primiparous cows as they started their first lactation. This study has therefore shown that the ageing process in the livers of dairy cows is accelerated by successive lactations and increasing milk yields. This was associated with evidence of metabolic and immune disorders together with hepatic dysfunction. These problems are likely to increase involuntary culling, thus reducing the average longevity in dairy herds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhangrui Cheng
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts AL9 7TA, UK
| | - Conrad Ferris
- Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Newforge Lane, Upper Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK
| | - Mark A Crowe
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Klaus L Ingvartsen
- Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
| | - Clément Grelet
- Valorisation of Agricultural Products Department, Walloon Agricultural Research Centre, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Amélie Vanlierde
- Valorisation of Agricultural Products Department, Walloon Agricultural Research Centre, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Leslie Foldager
- Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
- Bioinformatics Research Centre, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Frank Becker
- Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany
| | - D Claire Wathes
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts AL9 7TA, UK
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Cole J, Makanjuola B, Rochus C, van Staaveren N, Baes C. The effects of breeding and selection on lactation in dairy cattle. Anim Front 2023; 13:55-63. [PMID: 37324206 PMCID: PMC10266753 DOI: 10.1093/af/vfad044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- John B Cole
- URUS Group LP, Madison, WI 53718
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville
- Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
| | - Bayode O Makanjuola
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, N1G 2W4, Canada
| | - Christina M Rochus
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, N1G 2W4, Canada
| | - Nienke van Staaveren
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, University of Guelph, N1G 2W4, Canada
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43
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Tribout T, Minéry S, Vallée R, Saille S, Saunier D, Martin P, Ducrocq V, Faverdin P, Boichard D. Genetic relationships between weight loss in early lactation and daily milk production throughout the lactation in Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci 2023:S0022-0302(23)00217-5. [PMID: 37164861 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-22813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
After calving, high-yielding dairy cows mobilize body reserves for energy, sometimes to the detriment of health and fertility. This study aimed to estimate the genetic correlation between body weight loss until nadir and daily milk production (MY24) in first- (L1) and second-lactation (L2) Holstein cows. The data set included 859,020 MY24 records and 570,651 daily raw body weight (BWr) phenotypes from 3,989 L1 cows, and 665,361 MY24 records and 449,449 BWr phenotypes from 3,060 L2 cows, recorded on 36 French commercial farms equipped with milking robots that included an automatic weighing platform. To avoid any bias due to change in digestive content, BWr was adjusted for variations in feed intake, estimated from milk production and BWr. Adjusted body weight was denoted BW. The genetic parameters of BW and MY24 in L1 and L2 cows were estimated using a 4-trait random regression model. In this model, the random effects were fitted by second-order Legendre polynomials on a weekly basis from wk 1 to 44. Nadir of BW was found to be earlier than reported in the literature, at 29 d in milk, and BW loss from calving to nadir was also lower than generally assumed, close to 29 kg. To estimate genetic correlations between body weight loss and production, we defined BWL5 as the loss of weight between wk 1 and 5 after calving. Genetic correlations between BWL5 and MY24 ranged from -0.26 to 0.05 in L1 and from -0.11 to 0.10 in L2, according to days in milk. These moderate to low values suggest that it may be possible to select for milk production without increasing early body mobilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Tribout
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
| | - S Minéry
- Institut de l'Elevage, 75012 Paris, France
| | - R Vallée
- Institut de l'Elevage, 75012 Paris, France
| | - S Saille
- INNOVAL, CS 10040, 35538 Noyal sur Vilaine, France
| | | | - P Martin
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - V Ducrocq
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - P Faverdin
- INRAE, AgroCampus Ouest, PEGASE, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France
| | - D Boichard
- Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
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Strapáková E, Candrák J, Strapák P. Analysis of Calving Ease and Stillbirth and Their Impact on the Length of Functional Productive Life in Slovak Holstein Cattle. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13091496. [PMID: 37174533 PMCID: PMC10177267 DOI: 10.3390/ani13091496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of births according to the categories of calving difficulty and stillbirths and to evaluate the effect of these factors on the longevity of cows. Longevity is one of the traits that affect the overall profit in the dairy industry. A Weibull proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the influence of functional traits such as calving ease and stillbirth. Longevity was expressed as the length of a functional, productive life from the first calving to death or censoring, which was corrected for milk yield. The database included 918,568 calvings, where calving without assistance represented 83.34%, calving with the assistance of one person or the use of a slight mechanical pull represented 14.47%, difficult calving with the assistance of several people, the use of mechanical traction or the intervention of a veterinarian represented 2.16%, and cesarean section represented 0.03%. The mortality of calves, stillborn or dead within 48 h of birth, represented 1.07% and 6.59%, respectively. The frequency of alive female calves was higher (46.84%) than male calves (45.50%). Cows with higher lactations had almost half as many stillborn calves as heifers. The most stillborn calves were found in difficult births (59.48%). In easy calving, this proportion was 2.48%. Using survival analysis, we estimated the significant influence of the factors such as parity, milk production, herd size, age at first calving, herd × year × season, sex of calf, calving ease, and stillbirth on the length of the functional, productive life of cows. The risk of early culling of the cows with moderately difficult calving was 1.259 times higher than in the cows with easy calving. Difficult calving and cesarean section shorten the productive life, and the risk of culling reached 1.711 and 1.894, respectively. Cows that gave birth to a dead calf achieved a 2.939 times higher risk of culling compared to cows that gave birth to a live calf. In this study, a higher risk of early culling was found in cows that gave birth to a male calf. Evaluation of the calving ease and stillbirth can be used as indirect indicators at an earlier age of the animal in the selection process for long-lived animals with good productive and reproductive performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Strapáková
- Institute of Nutrition and Genomics, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
| | - Juraj Candrák
- Institute of Nutrition and Genomics, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
| | - Peter Strapák
- Institute of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
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45
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Riaz U, Idris M, Ahmed M, Ali F, Yang L. Infrared Thermography as a Potential Non-Invasive Tool for Estrus Detection in Cattle and Buffaloes. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13081425. [PMID: 37106988 PMCID: PMC10135134 DOI: 10.3390/ani13081425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The productivity of dairy animals has significantly increased over the past few decades due to intense genetic selection. However, the enhanced yield performance of milk animals caused a proportional increase in stress and compromised reproductive efficiency. Optimal reproductive performance is mandatory for the sustainable production of dairy animals. Reproductive efficiency is marked by proper estrus detection and precise breeding to achieve maximum pregnancies. The existing conventional methods of estrus detection are somewhat labor intensive and less efficient. Similarly, the modern automated methods that rely on detecting physical activity are expensive, and their efficiency is affected by factors such as type of housing (tie stall), flooring, and environment. Infrared thermography has recently emerged as a technique that does not depend on monitoring physical activity. Furthermore, infrared thermography is a non-invasive, user-friendly, and stress-free option that aids in the detection of estrus in dairy animals. Infrared thermography has the potential to be considered a useful non-invasive tool for detecting temperature fluctuations to generate estrus alerts without physical contact in cattle and buffaloes. This manuscript highlights the potential use of infrared thermography to understand reproductive physiology and practical implementation of this technique through discussing its advantages, limitations, and possible precautions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umair Riaz
- International Joint Research Centre for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (IJRCAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Musadiq Idris
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Mehboob Ahmed
- International Joint Research Centre for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (IJRCAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Farah Ali
- Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Liguo Yang
- International Joint Research Centre for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (IJRCAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Frontiers Science Center for Animal Breeding and Sustainable Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
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van Staaveren N, Hyland E, Houlahan K, Lynch C, Miglior F, Kelton DF, Schenkel FS, Baes CF. Recording of calf diseases for potential use in breeding programs: a case study on calf respiratory illness and diarrhea. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1139/cjas-2022-0112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Calf diseases remain a challenge for dairy producers from both an economic and welfare perspective. Genetically selecting for disease resistance in calves is a promising approach that could contribute to sustainable dairy farming. Genetic evaluations, however, require well-defined and consistently recorded phenotypes to be successful. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the current state of calf disease recording on Ontario farms. Calf disease records of respiratory illness and diarrhea were available from the national milk recording organization (Lactanet Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada) from 2009 to 2020. A case study was conducted to describe calf disease diagnoses and recording practices by surveying a subset of 13 Ontario dairy producers. The percentage of milk recorded farms that recorded calf respiratory illness and calf diarrhea increased from 2.6% in 2009 to 11.1% in 2020. Potential sources of data loss were identified along the information chain from farm to genetic evaluation database. Clear definitions and thresholds to diagnose calf disease, standard operating procedures for data recording, as well as a data transfer pipeline, which includes exchange formats, are needed to facilitate the inclusion of calf health traits in genetic evaluations.
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47
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Kot M, Kalińska A, Jaworski S, Wierzbicki M, Smulski S, Gołębiewski M. In Vitro Studies of Nanoparticles as a Potentially New Antimicrobial Agent for the Prevention and Treatment of Lameness and Digital Dermatitis in Cattle. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076146. [PMID: 37047119 PMCID: PMC10094334 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Digital dermatitis (DD) is the second most prevalent disease in dairy cattle. It causes significant losses for dairy breeders and negatively impacts cows' welfare and milk yield. Despite this, its etiology has not been entirely identified, and available data are limited. Antibiotic therapy is a practical method for managing animal health, but overuse has caused the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, leading to a loss in antimicrobial efficacy. The antimicrobial properties of metal nanoparticles (NPs) may be a potential alternative to antibiotics. The aim of this study was to determine the biocidal properties of AgNPs, CuNPs, AuNPs, PtNPs, FeNPs, and their nanocomposites against pathogens isolated from cows suffering from hoof diseases, especially DD. The isolated pathogens included Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Ochrobactrum intermedium I, Ochrobactrum intermedium II, Ochrobactrum gallinifaecis, and Actinomyces odontolyticus. Cultures were prepared in aerobic and anaerobic environments. The viability of the pathogens was then determined after applying nanoparticles at various concentrations. The in vitro experiment showed that AgNPs and CuNPs, and their complexes, had the highest biocidal effect on pathogens. The NPs' biocidal properties and their synergistic effects were confirmed, which may forecast their use in the future treatment and the prevention of lameness in cows, especially DD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Kot
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Kalińska
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Sławomir Jaworski
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Mateusz Wierzbicki
- Department of Nanobiotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Sebastian Smulski
- Department of Internal Diseases and Diagnostics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
| | - Marcin Gołębiewski
- Animal Breeding Department, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-786 Warszawa, Poland
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48
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Buonaiuto G, Lopez-Villalobos N, Costa A, Niero G, Degano L, Mammi LME, Cavallini D, Palmonari A, Formigoni A, Visentin G. Stayability in Simmental cattle as affected by muscularity and body condition score between calvings. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1141286. [PMID: 37065221 PMCID: PMC10094164 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1141286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the association between stayability (STAY) traits, muscularity, and body condition score (BCS) in the Italian Simmental dual-purpose cows. Data were collected from 2,656 cows linearly scored in their first lactation from 2002 to 2020 and reared in 324 herds. The binary trait STAY, which is the ability of a cow to stay in the herd, was obtained for each cow-lactation available up to parity 5 (from STAY1-2 to STAY4-5). Analysis of STAY was carried out using logistic regression, considering the fixed effect of energy corrected milk, conception rate, somatic cell score, and muscularity or BCS predicted at different time points. The herd of linear classification and residual error were the random effects. Primiparous cows with a medium BCS and muscularity in early lactation presented a more favorable STAY across life compared to thinner ones (P < 0.05). In fact, cows with an intermediate BCS/muscularity were more likely to stay in the herd after the third lactation (STAY3-4), compared to those presenting a lower BCS/muscularity (P < 0.01). However, cows whose muscularity was high were generally less likely to start the third lactation compared to the others. A potential explanation for this could be the willing to market cows with good conformation for meat purpose. Simmental is in fact a dual-purpose breed known for the good carcass yield and meat quality. This study demonstrates how muscularity and BCS available early in life can be associated with the ability of Simmental cows to stay in the herd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Buonaiuto
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | | | - Angela Costa
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanni Niero
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Degano
- National Association of Italian Simmental Cattle Breeders (ANAPRI), Udine, Italy
| | - Ludovica Maria Eugenia Mammi
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- *Correspondence: Ludovica Maria Eugenia Mammi
| | - Damiano Cavallini
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alberto Palmonari
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Formigoni
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giulio Visentin
- Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Niero G, Visentin G, Censi S, Righi F, Manuelian CL, Formigoni A, Mian C, Bérard J, Cassandro M, Penasa M, Moore S, Costa A, De Marchi M. Invited review: Iodine level in dairy products-A feed-to-fork overview. J Dairy Sci 2023; 106:2213-2229. [PMID: 36870838 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-22599] [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: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
The theme of iodine in the dairy sector is of particular interest due to the involvement and the interconnection of several stakeholders along the dairy food chain. Iodine plays a fundamental role in animal nutrition and physiology, and in cattle it is an essential micronutrient during lactation and for fetal development and the calf's growth. Its correct use in food supplementation is crucial to guarantee the animal's recommended daily requirement to avoid excess intake and long-term toxicity. Milk iodine is fundamental for public health, being one of the major sources of iodine in Mediterranean and Western diets. Public authorities and the scientific community have made great efforts to address how and to what extent different drivers may affect milk iodine concentration. The scientific literature concurs that the amount of iodine administered through animal feed and mineral supplements is the most important factor affecting its concentration in milk of most common dairy species. Additionally, farming practices related to milking (e.g., use of iodized teat sanitizers), herd management (e.g., pasture vs. confinement), and other environmental factors (e.g., seasonality) have been identified as sources of variation of milk iodine concentration. Overall, the aim of this review is to provide a multilevel overview on the mechanisms that contribute to the iodine concentration of milk and dairy products.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Niero
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - G Visentin
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy
| | - S Censi
- Department of Medicine, Endocrinology Unit, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy
| | - F Righi
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Via del Taglio 10, 43126 Parma, Italy
| | - C L Manuelian
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - A Formigoni
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy
| | - C Mian
- Department of Medicine, Endocrinology Unit, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy
| | - J Bérard
- Agroscope, Division Animal Production Systems and Animal Health, 1725 Posieux, Switzerland
| | - M Cassandro
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; Italian Holstein, Brown and Jersey Association, Via Bergamo 292, 26100 Cremona, Italy
| | - M Penasa
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - S Moore
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - A Costa
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy.
| | - M De Marchi
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
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Barden M, Anagnostopoulos A, Griffiths BE, Li B, Bedford C, Watson C, Psifidi A, Banos G, Oikonomou G. Genetic parameters of sole lesion recovery in Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci 2023; 106:1874-1888. [PMID: 36710182 PMCID: PMC9947741 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2022-22064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Sole hemorrhage and sole ulcers, referred to as sole lesions, are important causes of lameness in dairy cattle. The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of a novel trait reflecting how well cows recovered from sole lesions and the genetic correlation of this trait with overall susceptibility to sole lesions. A cohort of Holstein dairy cows was prospectively enrolled on 4 farms and assessed at 4 timepoints: before calving, immediately after calving, in early lactation, and in late lactation. At each timepoint, sole lesions were recorded at the claw level by veterinary surgeons and used to define 2 binary traits: (1) susceptibility to sole lesions-whether animals were affected with sole lesions at least once during the study or were unaffected at every assessment, and (2) sole lesion recovery-whether sole lesions healed between early and late lactation. Animals were genotyped and pedigree details extracted from the national database. Analyses were conducted with BLUPF90 software in a single-step framework; genetic parameters were estimated from animal threshold models using Gibbs sampling. The genetic correlation between both traits was approximated as the correlation between genomic estimated breeding values, adjusting for their reliabilities. A total of 2,025 animals were used to estimate the genetic parameters of sole lesion susceptibility; 44% of animals recorded a sole lesion at least once during the study period. The heritability of sole lesion susceptibility, on the liability scale, was 0.25 (95% highest density interval = 0.16-0.34). A total of 498 animals were used to estimate the genetic parameters of sole lesion recovery; 71% of animals had recovered between the early and late lactation assessments. The heritability of sole lesion recovery, on the liability scale, was 0.27 (95% highest density interval = 0.02-0.52). The approximate genetic correlation between each trait was -0.11 (95% confidence interval = -0.20 to -0.02). Our results indicate that recovery from sole lesions is heritable. If this finding is corroborated in further studies, it may be possible to use selective breeding to reduce the frequency of chronically lame cows. As sole lesion recovery appears to be weakly genetically related to sole lesion susceptibility, successful genetic improvement of sole lesion recovery would benefit from selection on this trait directly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Barden
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Alkiviadis Anagnostopoulos
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Bethany E. Griffiths
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Bingjie Li
- Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), The Roslin Institute Building, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Cherry Bedford
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Watson
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Androniki Psifidi
- Department of Clinical Science and Services, Royal Veterinary College, North Mymms, Hertfordshire, AL9 7TA, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Banos
- Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), The Roslin Institute Building, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Oikonomou
- Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Liverpool, CH64 7TE, United Kingdom.
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