College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China.
Genes (Basel). 2024 Mar 21;15(3):390. doi: 10.3390/genes15030390.
Qianhua Mutton Merino is a dual-purpose (meat and wool) breed of sheep that has been newly developed in China. In this study, we assessed the growth and development of the Qianhua Mutton Merino sheep breed under house feeding conditions by measuring the body weight and chest circumference of 2300 rams and ewes of this breed aged 0-24 months. Based on the fitting results of three nonlinear growth models, namely Logistic, Gompertz, and von Bertalanffy, in Qianhua Mutton Merino, we selected the von Bertalanffy model because of its highest fitting degree among all models (R > 0.977). The significant analysis of the combined fixation of each sheep body's weight and bust took place (A: mature body weight, B: adjustment parameter, K: instant relative growth rate). The results revealed that parameters A, B, and K of body weight and chest circumference have high heritability and thus could be used as target traits for genetic improvement. Moreover, the correlation strength among A, B, and K suggested that these parameters can be used as a reference to adjust the genetic parameters in the growth model to genetically improve the body size of Qianhua Mutton Merino during breeding.
钱花肉用美利奴羊是中国新培育的肉毛兼用绵羊品种。本研究通过对 0-24 月龄的 2300 只钱花肉用美利奴羊公、母羊体质量和胸围的测定，评估了舍饲条件下该品种的生长发育情况。基于 Logistic、Gompertz 和 von Bertalanffy 3 种非线性生长模型的拟合结果，选用 von Bertalanffy 模型对钱花肉用美利奴羊进行拟合，该模型的拟合度最高（R > 0.977）。对各只羊体质量和胸围的综合固定效应进行显著性分析（A：成熟体质量，B：调整参数，K：瞬时相对生长率）。结果表明，体质量和胸围的参数 A、B、K 均具有较高的遗传力，可作为遗传改良的目标性状。同时，参数 A、B、K 之间的相关性较强，在选育过程中可作为调整生长模型中遗传参数的参考，以遗传改良钱花肉用美利奴羊的体尺。
