The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity within and among three breeds of sheep: Corriedale, Merino and Creole. Sheep from the three breeds (Merino n = 110, Corriedale n = 108 and Creole n = 10) were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine SNP50 beadchip ® . Genetic diversity was evaluated by comparing the minor allele frequency (MAF) among breeds. Population structure and genetic differentiation were assessed using STRUCTURE software, principal component analysis (PCA) and fixation index (F ST ). Fixed markers (MAF = 0) that were different among breeds were identified as specific breed markers. Using a subset of 18,181 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), PCA and STUCTURE analysis were able to explain population stratification within breeds. Merino and Corriedale divergent lines showed high levels of polymorphism (89.4% and 86% of polymorphic SNPs, respectively) and moderate genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.08) between them. In contrast, Creole had only 69% polymorphic SNPs and showed greater genetic differentiation from the other two breeds (F ST = 0.17 for both breeds). Hence, a subset of molecular markers present in the OvineSNP50 is informative enough for breed assignment and population structure analysis of commercial and Creole breeds.
Temperament can be defined as the fearfulness and reactivity of an animal in response to humans and strange, novel or threatening environments. The productive performance of an animal is affected by its temperament, and selection of calm animals might improve their adaptation to the farming environment and handling, as well as improve productivity. The temperament was measured in lambs of two breeds of sheep in Uruguay. The effects of dam's age, type of birth, age of the lamb and contemporary group (CG; lambs belonging to the same year, flock, sex and rearing group) on the temperament of the lambs and the heritability of temperament were estimated with a Bayesian analysis using Gibbs sampling. Overall, 4962 Corriedale lambs and 2952 Merino lambs from 13 farms were tested. Temperament was measured using the isolation box test, isolating a lamb inside the box for 30 s, and recording the vibrations produced by its movements. The average temperament score (± s.e.m.) of the Corriedale lambs was 24.7 (±0.23) and that of the Merino was 36.8 (±0.45). Temperament was not associated with dam's age, type of birth or lamb's age. There were no relevant differences in the agitation score between lambs born in 2010 and 2011. The mean of the distribution of possible values of heritability (± s.d.) was 0.18 (±0.05) for the Corriedale and 0.31 (±0.06) for the Merino. The likelihood of heritability values to be greater than 0.15 exceeded 70% in the Corriedale and 90% in the Merino. The temperament of Merino and Corriedale sheep in Uruguay is moderately heritable. It is not related to dam's age, type of birth or age of the lambs; however, it is affected by some aspect of the CG.Keywords: sheep temperament, emotional reactivity, Gibb's sampling ImplicationsObjective selection for calm sheep may improve animal welfare and economic performance of sheep flocks. We assessed the temperament of Uruguayan lambs (reactivity to social isolation) with a simple test -the isolation box test (IBT). This trait had a heritability of 0.18 in Corriedale lambs and 0.31 in Merino lambs; therefore, temperament (assessed by IBT) can be considered as a potential selection tool for sheep. IntroductionSince domestication, natural and artificial selection have led to the adaptation of animals to different types of production environments. However, farmers still have to deal with low lambing rate and high lamb mortality (Simm et al., 1996). Artificial selection for behavioural traits in species of economic value can improve adaptation of the animals to production environments. The expression of undesirable behavioural traits in livestock has the potential to significantly compromise farm viability, animal welfare, human safety and labour efficiency (Turner et al., 2011). Fear and emotional reactivity (temperament) are behavioural elements in cattle and sheep, which are heritable and can have genetic and phenotypic associations with reproductive performance and lamb survival (Murphy, 1999;Reverter et al., 2003;Kadel et al., 2006;Turner et al., 2011). In sheep...
Reproductive traits in breeding herds can be improved through crossbreeding, which results in breed differences, heterosis and breed complementarity. The aim of this study was to estimate group additive genetic and dominance effects for three reproductive traits; probability of artificial insemination (AIP); calving success (CS); and days to calving (DC) for Hereford (H), Angus (A), Nellore (N) and Salers (S) breeds under grazing conditions. Data were obtained from an experiment carried out during 1992-2002 by the
Selection has emphasized animal growth, leading to an increase in their mature size affecting in some cases the pregnancy of the cows and the efficiency of the systems. Usually, crossbreeding improve productivity because of the genetic effects that the cows exploit, but the impact on mature weight (MW) has not been studied. The present study aimed at estimating MW and genetic parameters associated with the MW in crosses between two British breeds: Hereford (H/H) and Angus (A/A), a Continental: Salers (S/S), and a Zebu: Nelore (N/N). MW was analyzed at 4; 4.5; 5; 5.5 and 6 years of age using a repeated-measure sire model. For parameters estimation, an additive – dominant model was used including the fixed effects of breed group, contemporary group, and age as covariate linear and quadratic, with the linear regression fitted by breed group. Permanent environmental and sire were included as random effects. According to the results, it is expected to observe heterosis between H/H and N/N, however, the structure of the data may not be enough for estimate accurately the genetic parameters in this trait. The A/H, N/H, S/H, S/SH and H/NH cows were heavier than the H/H cows. All the breed groups continue gaining weight until six years of age. The results revealed that British crossbred animals are heavier than H/H at the first crossing but not in the following. Crossbred cows with proportions of 0.5 and greater for the Continental breed are heavier than H/H cows. Crosses between British and Zebu cows have higher mature weight than H/H at the first crossing and in backcrosses toward the British in all ages.
En un experimento dialélico entre las razas Hereford (H/H) y Aberdeen Angus (A/A) desarrollado entre los años 1994 y 2002 en la Estación Experimental Bernardo Rosengurtt de la Facultad de Agronomía-Udelar, Uruguay, se estimaron diferencias en efectos genéticos directos (gIA-gIH) y efectos genéticos maternos (gmA-gmH), efectos de heterosis individual (hIAH) y materna (hmAH) mediante modelos lineales para condición corporal al parto (CCP), peso al nacimiento (PN), y peso al destete (PD), y usando modelos lineales generalizados para porcentaje de destete (% D). En CCP los efectos raciales y la heterosis estimada no fueron significativas, en tanto para PN la diferencia en kg fue negativa, siendo superior H/H (-1,18±0,42 kg, P=0,0051). Para PD la diferencia entre efectos maternos (gmA – gmH) resultó positiva, con 4,87±1,01 kg (P=0,0001), y la heterosis individual fue de 5,12±1,24 kg (P=0,0001). Para el % D, la hIAH fue de 0,22± 0,03. La hmAH resultó significativa para PD (11,58±1,48 kg, P=0,0001). Al nacimiento los terneros H/H, A/H y H/A fueron más pesados que los A/A. En % D las madres cruza en promedio superan en 24,7 unidades (14,9 %) a las puras (85,0 vs 60,3). Al destete los terneros hijos de madres híbridas fueron significativamente más pesados (promedio 159,1 kg). Las madres Hereford destetaron los terneros significativamente más livianos (promedio 143,3 kg); mientras que los terneros hijos de madres Angus pesaron 151,6 kg.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.