Selection for environmental variance of litter size in rabbits

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the genetic determination of environmental variance. In the case of litter size, environmental variance can be related to the capacity of animals to adapt to new environmental conditions, which can improve animal welfare. We developed a ten-g...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics selection evolution (Paris) 2017-05, Vol.49 (1), p.48-48, Article 48
Main Authors: Blasco, Agustín, Martínez-Álvaro, Marina, García, Maria-Luz, Ibáñez-Escriche, Noelia, Argente, María-José
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal lactation
Animal welfare
Animals
Birth weight
Divergence
Ecosystem
Environmental aspects
Environmental conditions
Experiments
Female
Females
Gene-Environment Interaction
Generalized linear models
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Heterogeneity
Homogeneity
Life Sciences
Litter size
Litter Size - genetics
Male
Parity
Phenotypic variations
Physiological aspects
Quantitative genetics
Rabbits
Rabbits - genetics
Rodents
Selective Breeding
Statistical analysis
Variance
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the genetic determination of environmental variance. In the case of litter size, environmental variance can be related to the capacity of animals to adapt to new environmental conditions, which can improve animal welfare. We developed a ten-generation divergent selection experiment on environmental variance. We selected one line of rabbits for litter size homogeneity and one line for litter size heterogeneity by measuring intra-doe phenotypic variance. We proved that environmental variance of litter size is genetically determined and can be modified by selection. Response to selection was 4.5% of the original environmental variance per generation. Litter size was consistently higher in the Low line than in the High line during the entire experiment. We conclude that environmental variance of litter size is genetically determined based on the results of our divergent selection experiment. This has implications for animal welfare, since animals that cope better with their environment have better welfare than more sensitive animals. We also conclude that selection for reduced environmental variance of litter size does not depress litter size.
ISSN:1297-9686
0999-193X
1297-9686
DOI:10.1186/s12711-017-0323-4