Animal and Bioscience Research Department, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland.
J Dairy Sci. 2011 Aug;94(8):4109-18. doi: 10.3168/jds.2010-4016.
Genomic selection has the potential to increase the accuracy of selection and, therefore, genetic gain, as well as reducing the rate of inbreeding, yet few studies have evaluated the potential benefit of the contribution of females in genomic selection programs. The objective of this study was to determine the effect on genetic gain, accuracy of selection, generation interval, and inbreeding, of including female genotypes in a genomic selection breeding program. A population of approximately 3,500 females and 500 males born annually was simulated and split into an elite and commercial tier representation of the Irish national herd. Several alternative breeding schemes were evaluated to quantify the potential benefit of female genomic information within dairy breeding schemes. Results showed that the inclusion of female phenotypic and genomic information can lead to a 3-fold increase in the rate of genetic gain compared with a traditional BLUP breeding program and decrease the generation interval of the males by 3.8 yr, while maintaining a reasonable rate of inbreeding. The accuracy of the selected males was increased by 73% in the final 3 yr of the genomic schemes compared with the traditional BLUP scheme. The results of this study have several implications for national breeding schemes. Although an investment in genotyping a large population of animals is required, these costs can be offset by the greater genetic gain achievable through the increased accuracy of selection and decreased generation intervals associated with genomic selection.
基因组选择有可能提高选择的准确性，从而提高遗传增益，并降低近交率，但很少有研究评估雌性在基因组选择计划中的贡献的潜在好处。本研究的目的是确定在基因组选择育种计划中包含雌性基因型对遗传增益、选择准确性、世代间隔和近交的影响。模拟了一个大约有 3500 头雌性和 500 头雄性每年出生的群体，并将其分为爱尔兰国家牛群的精英和商业层代表。评估了几种不同的育种方案，以量化雌性基因组信息在奶牛育种方案中的潜在好处。结果表明，与传统的 BLUP 育种方案相比，包含雌性表型和基因组信息可以使遗传增益的速度提高 3 倍，并将雄性的世代间隔缩短 3.8 年，同时保持合理的近交率。与传统的 BLUP 方案相比，在基因组方案的最后 3 年中，选择的雄性的准确性提高了 73%。本研究的结果对国家育种方案有几个影响。尽管需要对大量动物进行基因分型投资，但通过提高选择的准确性和降低与基因组选择相关的世代间隔来实现的更大遗传增益，可以抵消这些成本。
