Crossbreeding parameters for growth and feed consumption traits from a five diallel mating scheme in rabbits

Twenty-five genetic groups of young rabbits originated from a diallel-crossbreeding scheme among 5 selected lines: 3 maternal and 2 terminal sire lines belonging to 2 Spanish research institutions. A sample of 2,773 young rabbits from 525 litters was controlled during the fattening period lasting fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal science 2009-06, Vol.87 (6), p.1896-1905
Main Authors: Orengo, J, Piles, M, Rafel, O, Ramon, J, Gómez, E.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal growth
Animal productions
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
birth weight
Breeding
crossbreds
Crosses, Genetic
crossing
diallel analysis
Energy Intake - genetics
Feed and pet food industries
feed conversion
feed intake
Feeding Behavior
Female
Food industries
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
genetic improvement
growth traits
heterosis
litter size
liveweight gain
Male
maternal effect
quantitative traits
rabbits
Rabbits - genetics
Rabbits - growth & development
Terrestrial animal productions
Vertebrates
Weight Gain - genetics
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Summary:Twenty-five genetic groups of young rabbits originated from a diallel-crossbreeding scheme among 5 selected lines: 3 maternal and 2 terminal sire lines belonging to 2 Spanish research institutions. A sample of 2,773 young rabbits from 525 litters was controlled during the fattening period lasting from 5 to 9 wk. Growth and feed consumption traits were evaluated throughout different biweekly batches. A Bayesian approach was used for inference from an animal model with common litter effects. On average, genetic groups coming from lines selected for growth rate were heavier (+58.9 g at 32 d and +315.5 g at 60 d), had greater growth rate (9.24 and 8.15 g/d from individual or cage analysis, respectively) and feed intake (+13.24 g/d), and showed better feed conversion ratio (- 0.21 g of intake/g of gain), than the genetic groups originated from crosses among lines selected for litter size. Crossbreeding parameters were estimated from the samples of the marginal posterior distribution of the genetic group effect according to the Dickerson model. Maternal genetic and individual heterosis effects were null or very low. Direct genetic effects mainly regulated the expression of growth traits.
ISSN:0021-8812
1525-3163
DOI:10.2527/jas.2008-1029