Acceleration of genetic gain in cattle by reduction of generation interval

Kasinathan, Poothappillai; Wei, Hong; Xiang, T.; Molina, José Antonio; Metzger, John D.; Broek, Diane; Kasinathan, Sivakanthan; Faber, D.; Allan, M. F.

doi:10.1038/srep08674

Cited by 56 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Under optimal conditions, it is estimated that PAGE could increase genetic response 2-4-fold over GS alone. Although far from trivial, schemes for the practical implementation of PAGE have been proposed 175,184 that involve establishing, SNP genotyping and editing fetal fibroblast cell lines followed by SCNT. Although it will initially be limited by the number of known causative variants and technical hurdles, the feasibility of PAGE is likely to be explored by a number of breeding organizations in the near future.…”

Section: Genomic Advances Are Uncovering a Growing List Of Target Genmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing genomic information for livestock improvement

2018

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The world demand for animal-based food products is anticipated to increase by 70% by 2050. Meeting this demand in a way that has a minimal impact on the environment will require the implementation of advanced technologies, and methods to improve the genetic quality of livestock are expected to play a large part. Over the past 10 years, genomic selection has been introduced in several major livestock species and has more than doubled genetic progress in some. However, additional improvements are required. Genomic information of increasing complexity (including genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic and microbiome data), combined with technological advances for its cost-effective collection and use, will make a major contribution.

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Section: Genomic Advances Are Uncovering a Growing List Of Target Genmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing genomic information for livestock improvement

2018

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“…The combination of ART (MOET, IVP) and GS maximizes genetic gain (Ponsart et al, 2013) in cattle ( Figure 3). In addition, the conjunction of biopsies obtained from non-implanted embryos or amniocentesis with GS in younger heifers has increased the genetic selection pressure even further (Kasinathan et al, 2015). Although some limitations of these approaches have been found (e.g., extra cost and ethical considerations (Kasinathan et al, 2015)), a recent study indicated that embryo biopsy does not affect the viability and pregnancy rate of IVP-derived embryo (de Sousa et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Recent advances in bovine in vitro embryo production: reproductive biotechnology history and methods

Ferré¹,

Kjelland²,

Strøbech³

et al. 2020

Animal

183

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In vitro production (IVP) of embryos and associated technologies in cattle have shown significant progress in recent years, in part driven by a better understanding of the full potential of these tools by end users. The combination of IVP with sexed semen (SS) and genomic selection (GS) is being successfully and widely used in North America, South America and Europe. The main advantages offered by these technologies include a higher number of embryos and pregnancies per unit of time, and a wider range of potential female donors from which to retrieve oocytes (including open cyclic females and ones up to 3 months pregnant), including high index genomic calves, a reduced number of sperm required to produce embryos and increased chances of obtaining the desired sex of offspring. However, there are still unresolved aspects of IVP of embryos that limit a wider implementation of the technology, including potentially reduced fertility from the use of SS, reduced oocyte quality after in vitro oocyte maturation and lower embryo cryotolerance, resulting in reduced pregnancy rates compared to in vivo–produced embryos. Nevertheless, promising research results have been reported, and work is in progress to address current deficiencies. The combination of GS, IVP and SS has proven successful in the commercial field in several countries assisting practitioners and cattle producers to improve reproductive performance, efficiency and genetic gain.

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“…The 3 polled mating schemes (B-D) described above were also simulated with the addition of gene editing for polled, which, when combined with the baseline section on NM$ alone, made a total of 7 scenarios. In these scenarios (Edit-B, Edit-C, and Edit-D), gene editing was modeled as an added step to the production system proposed by Kasinathan et al (2015), which combines the use of advanced reproductive technologies and somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning with embryo transfer to produce elite sires. In the Edit-scenarios, the bulls were sorted on NM$ in descending order, and the top 1% of heterozygous polled and horned bulls were cloned and then edited to be homozygous polled.…”

Section: Gene Editingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the US dairy cattle population

Mueller

Cole

Sonstegard³

et al. 2019

Journal of Dairy Science

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Disbudding and dehorning are commonly used cattle management practices to protect animals and humans from injury. They are unpleasant, costly processes subject to increased public scrutiny as an animal welfare issue. Horns are a recessively inherited trait, so one option to eliminate dehorning is to breed for polled (hornlessness). However, due to the low genetic merit and scarcity of polled dairy sires, this approach has not been widely adopted. In March 2018, only 3 Holstein and 0 Jersey active homozygous polled sires were registered with the National Association of Animal Breeders. Alternatively, gene editing to produce high-geneticmerit polled sires has been proposed. To further explore this concept, introgression of the POLLED allele into both the US Holstein and Jersey cattle populations via conventional breeding or gene editing (top 1% of bulls/year) was simulated for 3 polled mating schemes and compared with baseline selection on lifetime net merit (NM$) alone, over the course of 20 yr. Scenarios were replicated 10 times and the changes in HORNED allele frequency, inbreeding, genetic gain (NM$), and number of unique sires used were calculated. Gene editing decreased the frequency of the HORNED allele to <0.1 after 20 yr, which was as fast or faster than conventional breeding for both breeds. In the mating scheme that required the use of only existing homozygous polled sires, inbreeding reached 17% (Holstein) and 14% (Jersey), compared with less than 7% in the baseline scenarios. However, gene editing in the same mating scheme resulted in significantly less inbreeding, 9% (Holstein) and 8% (Jersey). Also, gene editing resulted in significantly higher NM$ after 20 yr compared with conventional breeding for both breeds. Additionally, the gene editing scenarios of both breeds used a significantly greater number of unique sires compared with either the conventional breeding or baseline scenarios. Overall, our simulations show that, given the current genetic merit of horned and polled dairy sires, the use of conventional breeding methods to decrease the frequency of the HORNED allele will increase inbreeding and slow genetic improvement. Furthermore, this study demonstrates how gene editing could be used to rapidly decrease the frequency of the HORNED allele in US dairy cattle populations while maintaining the rate of genetic gain, constraining inbreeding to acceptable levels, and simultaneously addressing an emerging animal welfare concern.

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Acceleration of genetic gain in cattle by reduction of generation interval

Cited by 56 publications

References 18 publications

Harnessing genomic information for livestock improvement

Harnessing genomic information for livestock improvement

Review: Recent advances in bovine in vitro embryo production: reproductive biotechnology history and methods

Comparison of gene editing versus conventional breeding to introgress the POLLED allele into the US dairy cattle population

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