Genotype by environment interaction for the interval from calving to first insemination with regard to calving month and geographic location in Holstein cows in Denmark and Sweden

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate genotype by environment interaction effects, with environments defined as calving month and geographic location, on the interval from calving to first insemination (CFI) of Holstein cows in Denmark and Sweden. The data set included 811,285 records on CFI for first-parity cows from January 2010 to January 2014 housed in 7,458 herds. The longest mean CFI was 84.7 d for cows calving in April and the shortest was 76.3 d for cows calving in September. The longest mean CFI of 87.1 d was recorded at the northernmost location (LOC-8), whereas the shortest mean CFI of 73.5 d was recorded at the southernmost location (LOC-1). The multiple trait approach, in which CFI values in different calving months and different geographic locations were treated as different traits, was used to estimate the variance components and genetic correlations for CFI by using the average information (AI)-REML procedure in a bivariate sire model. Estimates of genetic variance and heritability were highest for January calvings and 3 times smaller for June calvings. Location 2 had the highest heritability and LOC-8 the lowest, with heritability estimates decreasing from LOC-2 to LOC-8. Genetic correlations of CFI between calving months were weakest between cold months (December and January) and warm months (June, August, and September); the lowest estimate was found between January and September calvings. Genetic correlations of CFI between the different geographic locations were generally strong, and the weakest correlation was between LOC-3 and LOC-8. These results indicate a genotype by environment interaction for CFI primarily regarding seasons described by calving months. The effect of geographic location was less important, mostly producing a scaling effect of CFI in different locations. We concluded that CFI is more sensitive to seasonal effects than geographic locations in Denmark and Sweden.

Genotype-by-environment interaction of fertility traits in Danish Holstein cattle using a single-step genomic reaction norm model

“…Some previous studies have reported the existence of G × E interactions in different fertility traits for cows under different environmental descriptors. For instance, ICF was found to have a high sensitivity under different calving months in Danish and Swedish Holstein dairy cattle (Ismael et al 2016). Significant G × E interactions in different herds of conventional and organic production systems were observed for calving interval, days open and pregnant at first insemination only in the second parity of Swedish Holsteins (Sundberg et al 2010), but no G × E interactions existed in the first parity.…”

Evaluation of genotype by environment interactions on milk production traits of Holstein cows in Southern Brazil

“…This occurs because, according to Kolmodin et al [18], alterations in the average rainfall exert little or no effect on the PY, reducing the effects of environmental variance on the total component. However, latitudinal differences have been cited in the literature as the principal reason for the alterations in temperature and time of day [19]. Carabaño et al [20] pointed out that temperature can be a determinant factor that influences the interaction on the production of protein in milk.…”

Genotype-environment interaction for age at first calving in Holstein cows in Brazil

“…The progeny performance of these bulls can be different in tropical and temperate countries, and the objectives and selection criteria are different, requiring the use of bulls that are produced and evaluated in tropical conditions, selected for production, and adapted to the local environment. Ismael et al. (2016b) found no reclassification of Holstein bulls along the environmental gradient in Danish herds and considered GEI to be zero.…”

“… Ouweltjes, Windig, Van Pelt and Callus (2015) also found a tendency of higher heritability in less favorable environments when evaluating calf mortality rate in first-calving dairy cows in the Netherlands; they found two-fold the heritability for unfavorable environments when compared to favorable environments. Similarly, Ismael et al. (2016b) estimated two-fold lower heritability in the most favorable environments when assessing the fertility of Holstein cows in Denmark.…”