Analysis of (co) variance components and estimation of breeding value of growth and production traits in Dahlem Red chicken using pedigree relationship in an animal model

Abstract

Variance and covariance components of growth and production traits were analyzed employing REML animal model to assess the Dahlem Red (PD-3) chicken population for direct additive genetic, maternal effects and to estimate the estimated breeding value (EBV), genetic parameters, genetic trends and rate of inbreeding (ΔF) utilizing seven generation’s data. The generation and hatch had significant (P≤0.01) effect on the body weight at 0 day (BW0), 2 (BW2), 4 (BW4) and 6 weeks (BW6) and shank length at six weeks of age (SL6). The average least squares means (LSM) for BW6 and SL6 were 273.93±0.62 g and 53.97±0.05 mm, respectively. All the production traits were significantly (P≤0.01) influenced by generation and hatch. The average LSM for age at sexual maturity (ASM), egg production up to 40 weeks (EP40) and egg mass up to 40 weeks (EM40) were 168.82±0.25 d, 72.60±0.41 eggs and 4.21±0.07 kg, respectively. Model 5 with additive direct, maternal genetic, maternal permanent environmental and residual variance components was the best for BW0, BW2 and BW4 based on the AIC values obtained in WOMBAT. Model 4 was the best model for BW6, SL6, ASM, EP40 and EM40 with additive direct, maternal permanent environmental and residual variance components. Maternal effects were higher during early age, decreased with age, and remained present until 20 weeks of age. The heritability (h2) estimates were low to moderate in magnitude for all the growth traits and ranged from 0.02±0.03 to 0.19±0.03. The maternal heritability was high at hatch (0.35±0.06), decreased gradually until 4th week (0.02±0.01) and ceased afterwards. The heritabilities of EP40 (0.11±0.03) and EM40 (0.12±0.04) were low. The direct additive genetic correlations (ra) between BW2, BW4, BW6 and SL6 were high and positive (P≤ 0.05). The additive genetic and maternal permanent environmental correlation between EP40 and EM40 were high and positive (P≤ 0.05). The EBV of EM40 was significant (P≤ 0.05) with 0.48 kg/generation in PD-3 chicken at the end of the seventh generation. The EBV of EP40 showed an increasing trend with a genetic gain of 1.87 eggs per generation. The average inbreeding coefficient of the population was 0.019 and average ΔF was 0.007 over the last seven generations of selection. The EBV trends for primary and associated traits showed linear trends in the desired direction and negligible inbreeding.

Autosomal and Z‐linked genetic evaluation for body weight in Mazandaran native chicken using different models for dosage compensation on the Z chromosome

“…Maternal heritability which was greater than direct heritability at hatch, decreased with age and was estimated to be less than direct heritability for BW8 and BW12. The reduction in maternal effects as age increases has also been reported in other studies (Mebratie et al, 2018; Rajkumar et al, 2021). Rajkumar et al (2021) reported that the estimate for maternal heritability was high at hatch and declined by the end of the fourth week in Dahlem Red chicken.…”

“…The reduction in maternal effects as age increases has also been reported in other studies (Mebratie et al, 2018; Rajkumar et al, 2021). Rajkumar et al (2021) reported that the estimate for maternal heritability was high at hatch and declined by the end of the fourth week in Dahlem Red chicken. They also, in agreement with our findings, showed that c 2 was higher at birth and declined with age.…”

Genetic Comparisons of Body Weight, Average Daily Gain, and Breast Circumference between Slow-Growing Thai Native Chickens (Pradu Hang dum) Raised On-Site Farm and On-Station

“…It might be inferred that the data from on-station farm research were reliable because of the amount of data and data connectedness [ 52 , 53 ], the multiple sources of data [ 54 ], and the high heritability traits [ 55 ]. In addition, other studies showed positive EBVs of body weight and found that these values tended to increase with selection [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Therefore, we inferred that a multitrait animal model and a selection index approach could be used for accurate genetic selection in both on-site farm and on-station chickens.…”

Pembinaan Program Seleksi Kambing Saburai Menggunakan Metode BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) Bagi Staff UPTD Balai Pembibitan Ternak Kambing Provinsi Lampung

“…Pelatihan estimasi nilai pemuliaan kambing dengan metode BLUP dilakukan dengan metode ceramah dan praktek langsung estimasi nilai pemuliaan kambing yang ada di UPTD. Estimasi nilai pemuliaan dengan metode BLUP adalah menggunakan software WOMBAT (Meyer, 2007;Meyer, 2018, Rajkumar et al, 2021.…”