Inbreeding Trends and Application of Optimized Selection in the UK Holstein Population

Important increases in the rates of inbreeding have recently been observed in dairy cattle populations, and methods have been proposed to address these increases. The aims of this study were to estimate the current level and rates of inbreeding in the UK Holstein population and to investigate the po...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dairy science 2004-10, Vol.87 (10), p.3503-3509
Main Authors: Kearney, J.F., Wall, E., Villanueva, B., Coffey, M.P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal productions
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Breeding - methods
Breeding - statistics & numerical data
Cattle - genetics
Cattle - physiology
dairy cows
Dairying - methods
Female
Food industries
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Holstein
Inbreeding
inbreeding coefficient
Male
Milk and cheese industries. Ice creams
optimization
optimized selection
Pedigree
selection criteria
selection methods
Selection, Genetic
Terrestrial animal productions
United Kingdom
Vertebrates
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:Important increases in the rates of inbreeding have recently been observed in dairy cattle populations, and methods have been proposed to address these increases. The aims of this study were to estimate the current level and rates of inbreeding in the UK Holstein population and to investigate the potential of applying optimized selection to manage the rates of inbreeding. Inbreeding coefficients were calculated for the entire UK Holstein population using 1940 as the base year. Rates of inbreeding were obtained for 3 time periods by regressing mean inbreeding coefficients on the year of birth of the animals. The expected average pedigree index and expected inbreeding of offspring using optimized contributions for a given set of selection candidates was compared to the expected pedigree index and inbreeding of offspring for the same set of selection candidates using observed contributions. The rate of inbreeding in the UK Holstein population has increased substantially since 1990 when compared to previous time periods. This increase is most likely due to the large influence of a few related sires on the breed in the mid- to late 1980s. The introduction of the individual animal model in the early 1990s may also have contributed to increased inbreeding. Optimized selection appears to represent a promising selection tool, not only to manage rates of inbreeding, but also to increase genetic gain at the same rate of inbreeding.
ISSN:0022-0302
1525-3198
DOI:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(04)73485-2