ASAS Centennial Paper: Future needs in animal breeding and genetics

Abstract

The past century has seen animal breeding and genetics evolve and expand from definition and validation of basic population genetics theory to development of selection index theory to today's relatively sophisticated genetic prediction systems enabling industry genetic improvement. The end of the first century of the American Society of Animal Science coincides with the rapid movement of the field into the era of genome-enabled genetic improvement and precision management systems. Led by recent research infrastructure investments by the United States and international partners to develop chicken, bovine, swine, ovine, and equine "genomic toolboxes," the animal breeding community is poised to play a crucial role in the century to come. These genomic toolboxes provide the needed platforms for developing whole-genome selection programs based on linkage disequilibrium for a wide spectrum of traits; allow the opportunity to redefine genetic prediction based on allele sharing as opposed to traditional pedigree relationships; and provide for the first time simultaneous information upon which to practice genetic selection and plan precision management of specific genotypes, all early in the life of the animal. An area of major focus will be mining of the genomes through systems biology approaches to better understand gene and metabolic networks--what has previously been lumped into poorly understood genotype by environment and genotype by genotype interactions. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the successful merger of genomic and quantitative approaches will be the lack of necessary animal resource populations to appropriately define and measure phenotypes (i.e., the so-called phenomic gap) for difficult-to-measure traits such as resistance to disease and stress, adaptability, longevity, and efficiency of nutrient utilization. Additionally, because of de-emphasis of quantitative genetics and animal breeding programs in academia over the past quarter century, a dearth of qualified young scientists to effectively mine the genomes must immediately be addressed. Although the motivating factors may have changed, the need for high-quality animal breeding and genetics research and education has never been greater.

Association with TGF‐β1 Gene Polymorphisms and Reproductive Performance of Large White Pig

“…On the other hand, those pigs bearing KK HCs already having large litters may benefit from improvements of frozen semen, frozen embryos and non‐surgical embryo transfer (ET) and will favour establishing and updating nucleus populations, obtaining 100% of the desired genotype with maximum reproductive ability. These genomic tools provide the needed platforms for developing whole‐genome selection programmes based on linkage disequilibrium for a wide spectrum of traits; allows opportunity to redefine genetic prediction based on allele sharing as opposed to traditional pedigree relationships (Green 2009). Our current study provided such a clue for screening pigs to determine those more likely to produce larger litters and/or those less likely to produce larger litters by screening TGF‐β1 gene polymorphisms.…”

Heterosis manifestation during early Arabidopsis seedling development is characterized by intermediate gene expression and enhanced metabolic activity in the hybrids

“…Hybrid breeding, which exploits heterosis, is applied to crops such as maize, rice ( Oryza sativa ), sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ), rapeseed ( Brassica napus ), sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris ) and tomato (Duvick, 2009) as well as to livestock, including cattle, poultry, swine and sheep (Green, 2009). Heterosis occurs in the model organisms Drosophila melanogaster and Arabidopsis (Langridge, 1962).…”

Crossbreeding to increase beef production: additive and non-additive effects on weight traits

“…Today's sophisticated genetic prediction systems (Green, 2009) enable the use of existing breeding values to model total herd productivity. For crossbreeding, information on breed composition and heterosis are incorporated into multi-breed genetic evaluation models to predict phenotypic performance (Cardoso & Templeman, 2004;Pollak, 2006).…”