Turning science on robust cattle into improved genetic selection decisions

Amer, P. R.

doi:10.1017/s1751731111002576

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This broad definition meets the previously stated requirement of considering the entire biological system, and is largely equivalent to other recent definitions of robustness in the animal sciences (Knap, 2009;Amer, 2012). However, it should be noted that this definition can, in principle, be applied to other levels of organisation of biological systems with only minor changes in wording, for example, at the level of the cell (Kitano, 2004) or at the level of the farm (ten Napel et al, 2011) or species (Martin and Wiebe, 2004).…”

Section: A Generic Robustness Definition To Facilitate Its Use In Pramentioning

confidence: 69%

Review: Deciphering animal robustness. A synthesis to facilitate its use in livestock breeding and management

Friggens

Blanc

Berry

et al. 2017

Animal

150

145

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As the environments in which livestock are reared become more variable, animal robustness becomes an increasingly valuable attribute. Consequently, there is increasing focus on managing and breeding for it. However, robustness is a difficult phenotype to properly characterise because it is a complex trait composed of multiple components, including dynamic elements such as the rates of response to, and recovery from, environmental perturbations. In this review, the following definition of robustness is used: the ability, in the face of environmental constraints, to carry on doing the various things that the animal needs to do to favour its future ability to reproduce. The different elements of this definition are discussed to provide a clearer understanding of the components of robustness. The implications for quantifying robustness are that there is no single measure of robustness but rather that it is the combination of multiple and interacting component mechanisms whose relative value is context dependent. This context encompasses both the prevailing environment and the prevailing selection pressure. One key issue for measuring robustness is to be clear on the use to which the robustness measurements will employed. If the purpose is to identify biomarkers that may be useful for molecular phenotyping or genotyping, the measurements should focus on the physiological mechanisms underlying robustness. However, if the purpose of measuring robustness is to quantify the extent to which animals can adapt to limiting conditions then the measurements should focus on the life functions, the trade-offs between them and the animal's capacity to increase resource acquisition. The time-related aspect of robustness also has important implications. Single time-point measurements are of limited value because they do not permit measurement of responses to (and recovery from) environmental perturbations. The exception being single measurements of the accumulated consequence of a good (or bad) adaptive capacity, such as productive longevity and lifetime efficiency. In contrast, repeated measurements over time have a high potential for quantification of the animal's ability to cope with environmental challenges. Thus, we should be able to quantify differences in adaptive capacity from the data that are increasingly becoming available with the deployment of automated monitoring technology on farm. The challenge for future management and breeding will be how to combine various proxy measures to obtain reliable estimates of robustness components in large populations. A key aspect for achieving this is to define phenotypes from consideration of their biological properties and not just from available measures.

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Section: A Generic Robustness Definition To Facilitate Its Use In Pramentioning

confidence: 69%

Review: Deciphering animal robustness. A synthesis to facilitate its use in livestock breeding and management

Friggens

Blanc

Berry

et al. 2017

Animal

150

145

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“…The impact of genomic selection on MAT% therefore decreased when the traits were uncorrelated and with decreasing h 2 PROD . In cases where economic weights are uncertain or change over time, a breeding strategy that assures genetic gain for all traits under selection is most sustainable (Gibson, 1989), especially when farmer preferences result in an underweighting of robustness traits due to a short-term perspective (Amer, 2012). For maternal breeds, it is obvious that genetic gain for maternal traits is needed to stay competitive and that additional gain for traits that are difficult to improve by conventional methods can be a competitive advantage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic selection for two traits in a maternal pig breeding scheme1

Lillehammer

Meuwissen

Sonesson

2013

Journal of Animal Science

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The objective of this study was to compare different implementations of genomic selection to a conventional maternal pig breeding scheme, when selection was based partly on production traits and partly on maternal traits. A nucleus pig breeding population with size and structure similar to Norwegian Landrace was simulated where equal weight was used for maternal and production traits. To genotype the boars at the boar station and base the final selection of boars on genomic breeding values increased total genetic gain by 13% and reduced the rate of inbreeding by 40%, without significantly affecting the relative contribution of each trait to total genetic gain. To increase the size of the reference population and thereby accuracy of selection, female sibs in the selected litters can also be genotyped to increase genetic gain for maternal traits more than for production traits, thereby resulting in an increased relative contribution of maternal traits to total genetic gain. Genotyping 2,400 females each year increased the relative contribution of maternal traits to total genetic gain from 16 to 32%. Performing preselection of males by allowing genotyping of 2 males per litter and allowing for selection across and within litters before the boar test increased genetic gain by 5 to 11%, compared with genotyping the boars at the boar station, without significant effects on the relative contribution of each trait to total genetic gain. Genotyping more animals consequently increased genetic gain. Genotyping females to build a larger reference base for maternal traits gave similar genetic gain as genotyping the same amount of additional males but with a lower rate of inbreeding and a greater contribution of maternal traits to total genetic gain. In conclusion, genotyping females should be prioritized before genotyping more males than the tested boars if the breeding goal is to increase maternal traits specifically over production traits or genomic selection is used as a tool to reduce the rate of inbreeding.

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“…Les conditions nécessaires pour apprécier la capacité adaptative à des environnements variables ou limitants sont donc différentes de celles qui permettent l'expression du potentiel de production (environnement stable et non limitant). En termes opérationnels, les stratégies de sélection efficaces pour la robustesse sont donc complexes (Amer 2012). Par ailleurs, la mesure des effets environnementaux pouvant influencer les performances zootechniques sera d'autant plus difficile à réaliser dans le futur où la tendance est à l'adoption de (Dantzer et Mormède 1983).…”

Section: / Comprendre Et Prédire Les Compromis Entre Fonctions Vitalesunclassified

Des animaux plus robustes : un enjeu majeur pour le développement durable des productions animales nécessitant l’essor du phénotypage fin et à haut débit

Phocas¹,

Bobe²,

Bodin³

et al. 2014

INRA Prod. Anim.

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L’enjeu majeur du phénotypage animal est d’acquérir une connaissance systémique de la robustesse des animaux d’élevage pour répondre au mieux à une double finalité en termes d’exploitation de la variabilité des aptitudes animales : une sélection éclairée vers des objectifs majeurs pour améliorer l’efficience et la robustesse des génotypes, et un élevage de précision exploitant la variabilité individuelle des animaux pour gagner en résilience à l’échelle du troupeau, ou pour améliorer la conduite à génotype donné. Deux défis majeurs de connaissance, interdépendants et communs à toutes les filières animales, sont à relever pour améliorer la robustesse des animaux : i) comprendre et prédire les compromis entre fonctions vitales, c’est-à-dire les changements de priorités dans l’allocation de ressources limitées ; ii) comprendre et exploiter les aspects temporels de la robustesse au cours de la vie de l’animal pour lui permettre de maintenir son niveau de production dans une large gamme d’environnements sans pour autant compromettre sa reproduction, sa santé et son bien-être. Atteindre ces objectifs nécessite de lever les verrous techniques suivants : i) définir des phénotypes complexes à partir de l’intégration de données obtenues à différentes échelles moléculaires, tissulaires, de l’animal ou d’une de ses fonctions ; ii) mettre en oeuvre des technologies à haut débit pour caractériser à moindre coût et le plus précisément possible le plus grand nombre d’animaux ; iii) développer d’importantes bases de données, des méthodes et outils informatiques performants, nécessaires aux traitements des informations à des fins de modélisation et de biologie prédictive.

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Turning science on robust cattle into improved genetic selection decisions

Cited by 15 publications

References 16 publications

Review: Deciphering animal robustness. A synthesis to facilitate its use in livestock breeding and management

Review: Deciphering animal robustness. A synthesis to facilitate its use in livestock breeding and management

Genomic selection for two traits in a maternal pig breeding scheme1

Des animaux plus robustes : un enjeu majeur pour le développement durable des productions animales nécessitant l’essor du phénotypage fin et à haut débit

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