Genetic analysis on accumulated productivity and calving intervals in Nelore cattle.

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for accumulated productivity (ACP), first calving interval (CI1), second calving interval (CI2), and mean calving interval (MCI) in Nelore beef cattle. The ACP trait is a reproduction index and comprises the total number of calves born per dam, weight of weaned calves, and age of the dam at calving. Genetic parameters were estimated by the average information restricted maximum likelihood method in two-trait analyses. The average heritability estimate for ACP was 0.17 (0.03). For CI1, CI2, and MCI, the heritability estimates were 0.02, 0.02, and 0.06, respectively. Genetic correlations between ACP with CI1, CI2, and MCI were -0.16 ± 0.47, -0.29 ± 0.53, and -0.40 ± 0.27, respectively. Despite of the low heritability estimates obtained in our study, reproduction traits should be further studied and their inclusion in the selection criteria must be evaluated in order to improve the performance of females because these traits are of great economic importance in beef cattle. Accumulated productivity could contribute to decrease the mean calving interval in Nelore cattle.

Association of Apolipoprotein B and Adiponectin Receptor 1 Genes with Carcass, Bone Integrity and Performance Traits in a Paternal Broiler Line.

Apolipoprotein B (APOB) and Adiponectin Receptor 1 (ADIPOR1) are related to the regulation of feed intake, fat metabolism and protein deposition and are candidate genes for genomic studies in birds. In this study, associations of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) g.102A>T (APOB) and g.729C>T (ADIPOR1) with carcass, bone integrity and performance traits in broilers were investigated. Genotyping was performed on a paternal line of 1,454 broilers. The SNP detection was carried out by PCR-RFLP technique using the restriction enzymes HhaI for the SNP g.729C>T and MslI for the SNP g.102A>T. The association analyses of the two SNPs with 85 traits were performed using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) and Generalized Quasi-Likelihood Score (GQLS) methods. For REML the model included the random additive genetic effect of animal and fixed effects of sex, hatch and SNP genotypes. In the GQLS method, a logistic regression was used to associate the genotypes with phenotypes adjusted for fixed effects of sex and hatch. The SNP g.729C>T in the ADIPOR1 gene was associated with thickness of the femur and breast skin yield. Thus, the ADIPOR1 gene seems implicated in the metabolism and/or fat deposition and bone integrity in broilers.

Effect of IGF1, GH, and PIT1 markers on the genetic parameters of growth and reproduction traits in Canchim cattle.

The availability of dense genomic information has increased genome-wide association studies for the bovine species; however research to assess the effect of single genes on production traits is still important to elucidate the genes functions. On this study the association of IGF1, GH, and PIT1 markers with growth and reproductive traits (birth weight, weaning weight, weight at 12 and 18 months of age, preweaning average daily weight gain, age and weight at first calving, and scrotal circumference at 12 and 18 months of age) were assessed by means of the variance component approach. The phenotypes were adjusted and then analyzed under two animal models, one which considered the polygenic and genotype (IGF1, GH or PIT1 markers) effects (Model 1), and the other which considers only the polygenic effect (Model 2). When the likelihood ratio test and the Bonferroni correction was applied at 5 % significance level, the genetic markers for the IGF1, GH, and PIT1 genes did not influence significantly the traits (p > 0.002). However, evidence of association of IGF1 with birth weight (p = 0.06) and GH with weight at first calving (p = 0.03) and with weight at 12 months of age (p = 0.08) was observed. In conclusion we could not confirm the associations between IGF1, GH, and PIT1 and growth traits that were previously reported in Canchim cattle, and no association was observed between these genes and reproductive traits. Future studies involving functional markers of IGF1, GH and PIT1 genes may help to clarify the role of these genes in growth and reproductive processes.

Heterogeneidade dos componentes de variância na produção de leite e seus efeitos nas estimativas de herdabilidade e repetibilidade / Heterogeneity of variance components in milk production and their effects on estimates of heritability and repeatability

Avaliou-se a heterogeneidade dos componentes de variância e seu efeito nas estimativas de herdabilidade e repetibilidade da produção de leite de bovinos da raça Holandesa. Os rebanhos foram agrupados de acordo com o nível de produção (baixo, médio e alto) e avaliados na escala não transformada, raiz quadrada e logarítmica. Os componentes de variância foram estimados pelo método de máxima verossimilhança restrita. O modelo animal incluiu os efeitos fixos de rebanho-ano-estação e das covariáveis duração da lactação (efeito linear) e idade da vaca ao parto (efeito linear e quadrático) e os efeitos aleatórios genético aditivo direto, de ambiente permanente e residual. Na escala não transformada, todos os componentes de variância foram heterogêneos entre os três níveis de produção. Nesta escala, a variância residual e a fenotípica estavam associadas positivamente com o nível de produção enquanto que na escala logarítmica a associação foi negativa. A heterogeneidade da variância fenotípica e de seus componentes afetou mais as estimativas de herdabilidade que as da repetibilidade. A eficiência do processo de seleção para produção de leite poderá ser afetada pelo nível de produção em que forem estimados os parâmetros genéticos.

It was evaluated the heterogeneity of components of phenotypic variance and its effects on the heritability and repeatability estimates for milk yield in Holstein cattle. The herds were grouped according to their level of production (low, medium and high) and evaluated in the non-transformed, square-root and logarithmic scale. Variance components were estimated using a restricted maximum likelihood method based on an animal model that included fixed effects of herd-year-season, and as covariates the linear effect of lactation duration and the linear and quadratic effects of cow's age at calving and the random direct additive genetic, permanent environment and residual effects. In the non-transformed scale all the variance components were heterogeneous. On this scale, residual and phenotypic variance components were associated positively with the level of production while in logarithmic scale that association was negative. Estimates of heritability were more affected than the repeatability for the phenotypic variance heterogeneity and their components. The of selection process efficiency for milk production could be affected by the level of production which was considered for genetic parameters estimation.