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PubMed1999

Genetic relationships among direct and maternal components of milk yield and maternal weaning gain in a multibreed beef herd.

Data spanning 1980 to 1993 from a multibreed beef herd including primarily eight breeds (Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Maine-Anjou, Pinzgauer, Simmental, and Tarentaise) were used to obtain 2,207 records on 200-d weaning gain (WG) and 1,826 records on 200-d milk yield (MY), obtained by machine milking after oxytocin injection. Estimates of (co)variances for the two traits (WG and MY) were obtained with REML with breed of calf, breed of cow, and heterotic effects modeled for the two traits. Animal effects of calf (CalfWG, CalfMY) and cow (CowWG, CowMY) contributions to each trait were modeled including 2,926 animals. The permanent environmental effect of the cow was modeled for MY, with 693 levels. Estimates of breed differences were generally similar to literature estimates. Simmental, Charolais, and Maine-Anjou were highest for CalfWG, and Tarentaise, Simmental, Gelbvieh, and Maine-Anjou were highest for CowMY. Heterosis was estimated at 8.00, 2.58, 4.05, and 5.50% of the mean for CalfWG, CowWG, CalfMY, and CowMy, respectively. Variance attributable to repeated records on CowMy represented 9% of phenotypic variance. Heritabilities estimated were .22 and .24 for CalfWG and CowWG and .04 and .35 for CalfMY and CowMY. Genetic correlations estimated between CalfWG and CowWG and between CalfMY and CowMY were -.35 and -.64, respectively. A genetic correlation between CowWG and CowMY of .76 indicates that maternal weaning gain evaluations are a good predictor of a cow's potential for milk yield.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2004

Genetic relationship between olfactory response and fitness in Cotesia glomerata (L.).

The flight response of the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata (L.) to semiochemicals from a plant-host complex is subject to genetic variation. The significance of additive genetic variance for the odour-guided behaviour has been demonstrated by bidirectional selection. In order to understand the potential and constraints for phenotypic evolution in olfactory response under the pressure of natural selection, this study was to investigate genetic covariation between the odour-guided behaviour and life-history traits and its genetic correlation with the efficiency of parasitism. A paternal half-sib analysis revealed that there was no significant genetic correlation between this behavioural character and any of three life-history traits examined (the development time of immature stages, the body size of female wasps, the number of female wasps per brood). Comparisons between the selected high and low olfactory-response strains showed the lack of correlated responses in these life-history traits to bidirectional selection on the odour-guided behaviour. On the other hand, genotypic differences in the ability of olfactory response significantly affected the efficiency of parasitism. In comparison with the low olfactory-response strain, female wasps from the high olfactory-response strain were able to parasitize more host larvae in a wider area of habitats. This study provides the first evidence of links between olfactory response and population success in parasitoids from a genetic perspective.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Direct and correlated responses to artificial selection on acute thermal stress tolerance in a livebearing fish.

Tradeoffs in performance or fitness across environments have important implications regarding the nature of evolutionary constraints. It remains controversial whether tradeoffs such as these reflect genetic correlations that are genuine evolutionary constraints. However, if such long-term genetic constraints do exist, they must be due to underlying pleiotropy such that alleles that confer high performance in one environment invariably confer low performance in another. The distribution of genetic correlations within and among populations can provide insight about the existence of such pleiotropic tradeoffs. The long-term association of certain teleost fish taxa with particular abiotic environments suggests that tradeoffs in performance across environments have constrained the geographic distribution of those taxa. Here we report the results of an experiment in which we artificially selected on acute heat- and cold-stress tolerance in two stocks of the poeciliid fish Heterandria formosa from source populations with different thermal histories. Unexpectedly, we observed no direct responses to selection. Under certain conditions, fish from the different source populations differed significantly in cold tolerance, but not in heat tolerance. The results suggest there are no strong pleiotropic tradeoffs between heat- and cold-stress tolerance in these populations.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Consequences of hierarchical allocation for the evolution of life-history traits.

Resource allocation within individuals may often be hierarchical, and this may have important effects on genetic correlations and on trait evolution. For example, organisms may divide energy between reproduction and somatic growth and then subdivide reproductive resources. Genetic variation in allocation to pathways early in such hierarchies (e.g., reproduction) can cause positive genetic correlations between traits that trade off (e.g., offspring size and number) because some individuals invest more resources in reproduction than others. We used quantitative-genetic models to explore the evolutionary implications of allocation hierarchies. Our results showed that when variation in allocation early in the hierarchy exceeds subsequent variation in allocation, genetic covariances and initial responses to selection do not reflect trade-offs occurring at later levels in the hierarchy. This general pattern was evident for many starting allocations and optima and for whether traits contributed multiplicatively or additively to fitness. Finally, artificial selection on a single trait revealed masked trade-offs when variation in early allocation was comparable to subsequent variation in allocation. This result confirms artificial selection as a powerful, but not foolproof, method of detecting trade-offs. Thus, allocation hierarchies can profoundly affect life-history evolution by causing traits to evolve in the opposite direction to that predicted by trade-offs.

Animal Population Groups↗

PubMed1990

Genetic variation and covariation in beef cow and bull fertility.

Single-sire natural mating data from a beef cattle herd in tropical Australia were used to estimate heritabilities of cow fertility (hc2), heritabilities of bull fertility (hb2) and genetic correlations between cow and bull fertility (rg) within each of six genotypes. Estimates of hc2 and hb2 were low, averaging .11 and .08, respectively. The pooled estimate of rg was 0.16, indicating that cow and bull fertility are favorably genetically correlated and therefore that cow fertility could be genetically improved by indirect selection on bull fertility, or some more heritable component of bull fertility.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1993

Selective breeding, congenic strains, and other classical genetic approaches to the analysis of alcohol-related polygenic pleiotropisms.

Dimensions of behavioral sensitivities to alcohol in mice are under control of polygenic systems of relatively small size. The mode of inheritance of these phenotypes is frequently additive, with no evidence of dominance, epistasis, or sex linkage. The utility of classical breeding methodologies, such as selection, for assessment of genetic correlations is reviewed. A distinction is drawn between pleiotropisms in these polygenic systems, and the statistical concept of a genetic correlation. Development of congenic strains is argued to be a powerful alternative methodology, heretofore unused in alcohol pharmacogenetics. Using the phenotype of behavioral activation produced by a low dose of ethanol, we describe the production of an activated congenic strain on the non-activated background of the C57BL/6 mouse strain. Through five generations of repeated backcrossing, from a genetically heterogenous stock, "activational" alleles are being successfully transferred to the C57BL/6 background. Theoretical issues in the creation of congenic strains in potentially polygenic systems are covered, including number of effective loci and heritability.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2005

Genetic parameters of fertility in two lines of rabbits with different reproductive potential.

A Bayesian analysis with a threshold model was performed for fertility defined as a binary trait (1 = successful mating, 0 = unsuccessful mating) in two populations of rabbits of different reproductive potential and different genetic origin: Line P selected for litter size and Line C selected for growth rate. There were 20,793 records of natural mating (86.2% successful) in Line C between 1983 and 2003, and 17,548 records (80.5% successful) in Line P, between 1992 and 2003. Data related to 5,388 and 3,848 females and 1,021 and 685 males in Lines C and P, respectively. The pedigree included 6,409 and 4,533 individuals in Lines C and P, respectively. The binary response was modeled under a probit approach. The model for the latent variable included male and female additive genetic effects, male and female permanent environmental effects, and the year-season and physiological status of the female (nulliparous, multiparous lactating, or multiparous nonlactating) as systematic effects. Means (standard deviation in parentheses) of the estimated marginal posterior distribution (EMPD) of male heritability were 0.013 (0.006) and 0.010 (0.008) in Lines C and P, respectively, and those of EMPD of female heritability were 0.056 (0.013) and 0.062 (0.018) in Lines C and P, respectively. Means of the EMPD of the proportion of the phenotypic variance due to environmental male and female effects were, respectively, 0.031 (0.007) and 0.128 (0.018) in Line C and 0.053 (0.010) and 0.231 (0.024) in Line P. Means (standard deviations in parentheses) of the EMPD of genetic correlation between male and female fertility were 0.733 (0.197) in Line C and 0.434 (0.381) in Line P. The posterior distribution of genetic correlations presents a huge dispersion, and the estimates should be taken with caution because of the almost negligible estimate of the male genetic component. Results indicate that little genetic variation exists for female fertility, and practically none for male fertility. It would, therefore, be possible to improve reproductive performance by including female fertility in a breeding program, but response to selection would be very small.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Genetic analysis of somatic cell score in Norwegian cattle using random regression test-day models.

The dataset used in this analysis contained a total of 341,736 test-day observations of somatic cell scores from 77,110 primiparous daughters of 1965 Norwegian Cattle sires. Initial analyses, using simple random regression models without genetic effects, indicated that use of homogeneous residual variance was appropriate. Further analyses were carried out by use of a repeatability model and 12 random regression sire models. Legendre polynomials of varying order were used to model both permanent environmental and sire effects, as did the Wilmink function, the Lidauer-Mäntysaari function, and the Ali-Schaeffer function. For all these models, heritability estimates were lowest at the beginning (0.05 to 0.07) and higher at the end (0.09 to 0.12) of lactation. Genetic correlations between somatic cell scores early and late in lactation were moderate to high (0.38 to 0.71), whereas genetic correlations for adjacent DIM were near unity. Models were compared based on likelihood ratio tests, Bayesian information criterion, Akaike information criterion, residual variance, and predictive ability. Based on prediction of randomly excluded observations, models with 4 coefficients for permanent environmental effect were preferred over simpler models. More highly parameterized models did not substantially increase predictive ability. Evaluation of the different model selection criteria indicated that a reduced order of fit for sire effects was desireable. Models with zeroth- or first-order of fit for sire effects and higher order of fit for permanent environmental effects probably underestimated sire variance. The chosen model had Legendre polynomials with 3 coefficients for sire, and 4 coefficients for permanent environmental effects. For this model, trajectories of sire variance and heritability were similar assuming either homogeneous or heterogeneous residual variance structure.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Similarities and effectiveness of test environments in selecting and deploying desirable genotypes.

Rooted cuttings of 40 different clones (genotypes) of Picea abies (L.) Karst were planted in seven test environments (P, H, L, S, B, M and K) in northern Germany. Type-B genetic correlations between the pairs of test sites were estimated, and a cluster diagram based on inter-site genetic correlations for height was used to illustrate the general pattern of similarities among the test sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first three principal components explained 97% of the variance in height, thereby providing a good summary of the relationships among the test sites. Test sites B and K accounted for a relatively high-and test sites H and M for a relatively low-proportion of genotype-environment interaction sums of squares and, consequently, for "ecovalence". "Moderator" and "instigator" test sites for interactions in different site combinations were detected. On the basis of several similarity measures, we observed two distinct groups: sites M-S-P formed one group, while sites K-L formed the other; sites H and B were closer to the first group. The empirical data indicated that a good test site should have the following features: (1) low interaction behaviour, (2) low coefficient of variation, (3) high genotypic selectivity, (4) high coefficient of determination, (5) high efficiency of expected gain. Based on these criteria, site M was determined to be the best test site for screening genotypes to be planted in other environments. We concluded that one broadly adapted vegetative propagation population of P. abies can be used for the potential planting environments in northern Germany.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Genetic analysis of number of mastitis cases and number of services to conception using a censored threshold model.

The objective of this study was to infer genetic parameters and genetic change for number of clinical mastitis cases (NCM) and number of services to conception (STC) in first-lactation Norwegian Red (NRF) cows. Records on 620,492 daughters of 3,064 NRF sires, with first calving from 1980 through 2004, were analyzed with a bivariate threshold liability model that takes censoring into account. Posterior mean (SD) of heritability of liability was 0.08 (0.004) for NCM and 0.03 (0.002) for STC. The mean (SD) of the posterior distribution of the genetic correlation between the 2 traits was 0.21 (0.04). Posterior means of the correlation between herd-5-yr effects, and between residuals for NCM and STC were 0.17 and 0.05, respectively. To evaluate effects of taking censoring into account, the data were also analyzed with a bivariate ordered threshold model ignoring censoring. The genetic correlation between NCM and STC was lower than in the censored threshold model (0.09 vs. 0.21). Heritability of liability to NCM and STC from this model was also slightly lower, whereas the point estimates of herd-5-yr and residual correlations were 0.15, and -0.01, respectively. These results suggest that genetic (co)variance may be understated in models ignoring censoring. For comparison purposes, the data were analyzed with a bivariate linear sire model and standard REML-BLUP procedures. The correlation (rank correlation) between sire evaluations from the censored threshold model and sire predicted transmitting abilities from the linear model was 0.90 (0.90) for NCM and 0.87 (0.86) for STC. The evolution of average sire posterior means by birth year of daughters was used to assess genetic change, and results indicated genetic reduction (i.e., genetic improvement) of NCM and little or no genetic change for STC in the NRF population.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Evolution of intrafamilial interactions.

A theory for the evolution of behavioral interactions among relatives is developed that allows for genetic correlations between the types of behavior that are expressed in different social contexts. Both theoretical and empirical considerations indicate that such genetic constraints will almost certainly be common in natural populations. It is shown that when genetic correlations between elements of social behavior exist, Hamilton's rule inaccurately describes the conditions for evolution by way of kin selection. The direction in which social organization evolves is a delicate function of the genetic covariance structure among behaviors expressed as an offspring, sibling, parent, etc. A change in this covariance structure caused by random genetic drift or by a change in environment for a population exhibiting genotype-environment interaction can cause the population to suddenly cross a threshold into a new selective domain. Consequently, radical changes in social organization may arise between closely related species without any major shift in selective pressures external to the population.

Altruism↗

PubMed1998

Genetic resistance to gastrointestinal nematode parasites in Polish long-wool sheep.

A study was undertaken from 1991 to 1994 on a farm in southern Poland to evaluate the genetic parameters of resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes. The predominant species were Teladorsagia circumcincta and Haemonchus contortus. A total of 32 sires were evaluated, around 15 per year. Faecal egg counts were measured twice during the 4-month grazing season for lambs (total 659 lambs) and three times for their mothers (total 327 ewes). Infection levels were high during the first 2 years and low during the last 2 years. Using an animal model, the heritability of log10(epg+25) increased from 0.20 in August to 0.33 in September for lambs, and from 0.18 in May to 0.25 in September for ewes. The repeatability of ewe faecal egg count between years was 0.25. A genetic correlation of 0.58 was found between faecal egg count in ewes and in 6-7-month-old lambs. A negative genetic correlation (-0.61) was estimated between faecal egg count in September and daily weight gain of lambs from 70 days of age to the end of grazing season (7 months of age). The results confirm the feasibility of genetic selection of sheep for resistance to nematode parasites in an environment where T. circumcincta and H. contortus are the dominant species.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Parental perceptions of genetic risk: correlation with choice of prenatal diagnostic procedures.

Determinants of patients' decisions to have prenatal diagnosis, and by which test (amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling), is not well understood. We have administered questionnaires to couples referred for genetic counseling and procedures for advanced maternal age and determined patients' responses, decisions, and attributable determinants of their choice. Differences in perception of risks between partners, and choice of procedure, correlated with socioeconomic, educational status and age.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Sire X environment interactions in beef cattle weaning weight field data.

Weaning weight field records, supplied by the American Polled Hereford Association, were used to examine sire X environment interactions. Sire X herd/region and sire X contemporary group/herd interactions were evaluated from a data set containing 19,503 records. Sire X region interaction was evaluated from a data set containing 8,659 records. The genetic correlations of sire progeny performance across contemporary groups/herd were .59 and .37 across herds and contemporary groups/region. The average genetic correlation of sire progeny performance across regions was .64. Heritability of weaning weight was .11 across regions, .17 within region and .28 within herd. Mixed-model sire analyses of Polled Hereford weaning weight field records should include sire X herd/region and sire X contemporary group/herd random effects to reduce the sire X environment effects particular to any herd or contemporary group, and to account for the distribution of sire progeny across herds and contemporary groups in the estimation of prediction error variance. It may be necessary to perform separate sire analyses for some regions to evaluate the breeding values of sires in regions where rank changes are likely to occur.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Genetic contributions to expression of the baboon cingular remnant.

Primitive mammalian molar morphology is characterised in part by a ridge of enamel that encircles the entire base of the molar crown, the cingulum. Many higher primates have reduced the cingulum, but often retain remnant features on the lingual surface of maxillary molars and the labial surface of mandibular molars. Two of these remnants in cercopithecoid primates, the interconulus and interconulid, are morphologically similar though the interconulus is found on maxillary molars and the interconulid is located on mandibular molars. Here we present results from a quantitative genetic analysis of expression of these two traits in a sample of 479 modern savannah baboons from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR). We found that both traits are significantly heritable with little variance attributable to other factors, such as sex, age, and molar crown size. Bivariate analyses yielded point estimates for genetic correlations between left and right side expression that are either equal to or not significantly different from 1.0; meaning that 100% of their additive genetic variance is due to the effects of the same gene or suite of genes. By contrast, our estimates of the genetic correlations between maxillary and mandibular expression of this trait range from 0.52 to 0.72, suggesting that 28-52% of the additive genetic variance in the interconulus and interconulid is due to the effects of shared genes. These results demonstrate that intra-arch expression is characterised by complete pleiotropy whereas inter-arch expression is caused by incomplete pleiotropy. These results are relevant to dental developmental studies as well as paleontological analyses of the evolution of the primate dentition.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Heritability, correlations and in silico mapping of locomotor behavior and neurochemistry in inbred strains of mice.

The midbrain dopamine system mediates normal and pathologic behaviors related to motor activity, attention, motivation/reward and cognition. These are complex, quantitative traits whose variation among individuals is modulated by genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Conventional genetic methods have identified several genes important to this system, but the majority of factors contributing to the variation remain unknown. To understand these genetic and environmental factors, we initiated a study measuring 21 behavioral and neurochemical traits in 15 common inbred mouse strains. We report trait data, heritabilities and genetic and non-genetic correlations between pheno-types. In general, the behavioral traits were more heritable than neurochemical traits, and both genetic and non-genetic correlations within these trait sets were high. Surprisingly, there were few significant correlations between the behavioral and the individual neurochemical traits. However, striatal serotonin and one measure of dopamine turnover (DOPAC/DA) were highly correlated with most behavioral measures. The variable accounting for the most variation in behavior was mouse strain and not a specific neurochemical measure, suggesting that additional genetic factors remain to be determined to account for these behavioral differences. We also report the prospective use of the in silico method of quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and demonstrate difficulties in the use of this method, which failed to detect significant QTLs for the majority of these traits. These data serve as a framework for further studies of correlations between different midbrain dopamine traits and as a guide for experimental cross designs to identify QTLs and genes that contribute to these traits.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Reassortment and modification of hemagglutinin cleavage motif of avian/WSN influenza viruses generated by reverse genetics that correlate with attenuation.

Avian influenza associated with H9N2 and H5N1 subtypes of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) has raised great concerns in China. To study this problem, reverse genetics has been employed. Three reassortants, rgH9N2, rgH5N1 and rgH5N2, were prepared and compared. Their hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes originated from Chinese AIV isolates of H9N2 or H5N1 subtype, while the rest of their genes were derived from A/WSN/33(H1N1) virus (WSN). In the H5 HA reassortants, the multibasic cleavage site was converted to a monobasic one. The results demonstrated that the reassortants did not produce CPE on MDCK cells in the absence of trypsin, showed egg-adaptation phenotype and stability of HA and NA during consecutive egg passages, and were not lethal to chickens and mice. However, the rgH5N1 reassortant exhibited a residual virulence in terms of lethality to chick embryos and pathogenesis in chickens. It can be concluded that (i) the genetic modification of H5 HA attenuated the H5 reassortants, (ii) the presence of internal WSN proteins contributed to the attenuated properties of the reassortants independently on H5 HA, and (iii) also the overall genome composition contributed to virulence differences. This report provides further contribution of reverse genetics to the knowledge of virulence of influenza viruses.

Animals↗

PubMed1978

Effect of environmental factors and fetal and maternal genotype on gestation length and birth weight of Holstein calves.

Records of gestation length and birth weight on 1522 live single births (from 1958 to 1976) of Holstein calves were from 81 sires and 552 dams. Average gestation length was 282.3 days, and average birth weight was 42.9 kg. Male calves were carried 1.7 days longer than female calves and weighed 2.9 kg more at birth. Both gestation length and birth weight increased with parity. Calves born in spring and summer were carried shorter times and weighed less than those born in fall and winter. Heritabilities of gestation length and birth weight as progeny traits were .73 and .51 and as maternal traits were .19 and .26. Genetic correlations between gestation length and birth weight were .46 as a progeny trait and .35 as a maternal trait. Genetic correlations between progeny traits and maternal traits were negative. The phenotypic correlation between gestation length and birth weight was .37, and environmental correlation was .30.

Animals↗