Call number: LD2668 .T4 1963 H54 / Master of Science

Genomic selection (GS) has been adopted by the dairy cattle breeding industry and the opportunity exists to implement this technology in UK beef and sheep breeding. However, these sectors do not appear so readily predisposed to GS implementation. Following an introduction to GS in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 investigated the structure of the little-studied UK beef breeding sector. This provided estimates of key commercial and pedigree population parameters, for use in modelling genetic gain from GS. Terminal traits were found to be the dominant selection goals, with 85% of beef-sired commercial matings resulting in progeny being slaughtered at a prime age. Pedigree bulls disseminated the majority of genes in the sector via natural service. The correlation between the terminal selection index (TI) and the sale price of breeding bulls was moderate, suggesting a modest uptake of genetic technology in the sector. Chapter 3 estimated selection intensity for TI, generation interval and the dissemination rate of improved genes in the pedigree Limousin population. In order to predict the genetic gain achievable in using GS in beef and sheep breeding, Chapters 4 to 6 undertook deterministic selection index simulations, incorporating genomic information as correlated traits. In Chapter 4, GS was modelled for terminal beef traits, when incorporating carcass information and accounting for likely genotype by environment interaction. Using a training population of 2000 sires, this concept was predicted to offer 40% greater genetic gain than existing BLUP selection using pedigree phenotypes. Gene flow methodology projected the commercial value of this gain to offer a substantial return net of genotyping costs. Chapter 5 explored GS for maternal beef traits within the concept of a nucleus breeding scheme. Whilst greater genetic gain was predicted with GS than with conventional BLUP, the economic value of this gain was projected to be too low to justify such a scheme in the UK. Chapter 6 proposed a synergy between computer tomography (CT) phenotypes and GS in sheep breeding. Developing a genomic predictor from male selection candidates with CT phenotypes and conventional performance records was predicted to increase genetic gain by 55% over BLUP selection without CT traits. Introducing GBV contributed most of the accuracy in this scenario, suggesting that the existing performance recording structure in UK sheep breeding could in the future be replaced by GS using CT. In the general discussion, the potential for GS in other beef and sheep traits was considered in the light of the outcomes of these simulations. Given the lack of vertical integration in UK beef and sheep sectors, the drivers for implementation of GS are examined. Finally, the options for international cooperation and the possibilities offered by future genotyping technology are considered. It was concluded that implementation of GS incorporating beef carcass phenotypes was merited and could provide a platform for future GS implementation in other novel traits. Sheep GS with CT traits was considered a higher risk strategy, due to the lack of evidence for uptake of existing EBV technology.

Experiments were carried out to test the effects of maternal nutrition (0.5 versus 1.0 x maintenance) during early foetal life and peri-ovulatory nutrition on the reproductive performance and associated parameters of Scottish hillbreeds (North Country Cheviot and Scottish Blackface) crossed with Texel sires carrying or not carrying the X-linked Inverdale (<i>FecX^I</i>) gene. Undernutrition of the dam resulted in reduced birthweights of single male lambs, reduced plasma progesterone concentrations of ewe lambs and a tendency for reduced ovulation rates in ewe lambs and shearlings (non-carriers) but litter size was not affected. Heterozygous carriers of the Inverdale gene showed a mean increase in ovulation rate of approximately 0.35 as ewe lambs, and approximately 0.65 the following year, the latter resulting in a mean litter size increase of approximately 0.6. Plasma progesterone concentrations were lower for <i>FecX^I</i> gene-carriers as ewe lambs and also as adults in a flock that had been flushed prior to mating, suggesting that the increased feed intake could have had a suppressing effect on the concentrations of this hormone. It is postulated that this could have resulted in the large number of peri-natal losses associated with gene-carrier ewes in the same flock, since neonatal vigour of offspring of gene-carriers was not affected in the SAC experimental flock that had not been flushed pre-mating. Presence of the <i>FecX^I</i> gene is associated with a reduction in birthweight of approximately 0.5 kg which could be due to the reduced placental efficiency of gene-carrier dams. At puberty and as shearlings gene-carriers remained lighter than their non-carrier counterparts. Throughout the shearling breeding season the increase in ovulation rate associated with this prolificacy gene remained constant.

"March 2004" / Bibliography: leaves R1-24 / xix, 209 p., A54, R24 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / "This thesis describes two models developed to investigate the effect of maternal feed intake on muscle cellularity and myogenic gene expression of fetal sheep." --p. vi.

No description available.

The primary purpose of the study was to obtain estimates of heritabilities of the important economic characters in Columbia and Columbia X Southdale sheep at weaning and yearling ages as well as the phenotypic and genetic correlations among these traits. Information was acquired concerning the effects of year of birth, age of dam, type of birth and rearing, sex, breed, and station on the weanling and yearling traits considered. Data were available on 2442 lambs from 1707 ewes for weaning weight analysis. The lambs were predominantly of the Columbia X Southdale strain. The Columbia X Southdale lambs were raised at Middlebury, Vermont, and Beltsville, Maryland, while the Columbias were reared at the Vermont Station only. Numbers of records for the other traits were not as large, many of the lambs having been culled before yearling age. Three weanling traits and six yearling traits were considered on each individual. The traits were scored or measured at about 140 days of age for the weanling. Yearling measurements were made when the sheep were approximately 13 months old. The nine traits evaluated were: weaning weight, weaning type, weaning condition, yearling body weight, yearling type, yearling condition, yearling fleece weight, yearling fleece character, and yearling staple length. The traits most influenced by the environmental effects were weaning weight, weaning type, weaning condition, yearling body weight, and yearling fleece weight. The year of birth was the most consistent cause of environmental differences of any of the effects studied. Heritabilities of weaning weight, weaning type, weaning condition, and yearling body weight were found to be 0.14, 0.14, 0.15, and 0.13 respectively. Heritability values for yearling type, condition, fleece weight, fleece character, and staple length were 0.32, 0.45, 0.69, 0.66, and 0.73 respectively. The estimates were obtained by paternal half-sib analysis. The 36 phenotypic correlations were all of a positive nature with the exception of four and only one of these negative relationships, between yearling fleece weight and fleece character, was statistically significant. Correlations of the greatest magnitude were found among the weanling body traits. The yearling traits were not highly correlated with the exception of type and condition (0.68). The genetic correlations revealed genetic antagonisms which might impede genetic progress if ignored in selection procedures. Negative genetic correlations were found between yearling how weight and weaning type, yearling fleece character, and yearling staple length. Yearling fleece weight was negatively correlated with yearling condition, yearling type, and yearling fleece character. Staple length was negatively correlated with yearling condition and fleece character. The majority of all traits were positively correlated and weaning weight showed a positive relationship with every other trait. The comparison between the Columbia and Columbia X Southdale sheep showed the Columbias to rank heavier in weaning weight, yearling weight, yearling fleece weight, and longer in yearling staple length. The Columbia X Southdale ranked higher in weaning type, condition, yearling type, condition, and fleece character scores. The estimates of genetic parameters obtained in the study form important guidelines for the development of future selection procedures, thus making possible more rapid progress in the improvement of the flocks studied. / Ph. D.

The study aims to determine the contribution made by available ram growth- and breed standard parameters on the sale price of auctioned rams in Namibia. These findings serve as an indication of the importance ram buyers place on individual parameters in selecting rams for breeding purposes. It furthermore tries to establish whether scientific measurement for the estimation of ram breeding values takes precedence over subjective appraisal. The analysis of the 100 day and 270 day growth performance of the progeny of selected Veldram tested rams were used to evaluate the accuracy of the estimation of ram breeding values and may serve to validate the proper execution of these Veldram tests.

The Elsenburg Merino flock has been divergently selected for the ability of ewes to rear multiple offspring since 1986. Updated genetic trends for reproduction are reported for the Elsenburg Merino resource flock. The objective was to determine whether genetic trends estimated previously for the Elsenburg Merino Resource flock changed significantly with the introduction of genetic material from the industry to the high (H) line. All analyses included the full pedigree file, consisting of 6547 individuals. Heritability estimates were 0.08 ± 0.02 for number of lambs weaned and 0.11 ± 0.02 for corrected weight of lamb weaned. The ewe permanent environment variance was estimated at 0.09 ± 0.02 and 0.11 ± 0.02 for number of lambs weaned and for corrected weight of lamb weaned, respectively. Genetic trends for the H and low (L) lines were divergent (P < 0.05) for all reproduction traits during the period prior to the observed breakpoints. Progress for number of lambs weaned in the H line stabilised after 1999 while a decline in response for weight of lamb weaned in the H line occurred after 2003. The change points may result from reduced selection intensity during the formation of reciprocal crossbred lines, or the introduction of unrelated industry sires in the H line. The pedigree was analysed and inbreeding trends computed for the H and L lines with the aim to test the significance of inbreeding within the lines. The software packages used for the statistical analyses were ENDOG v4.8 and POPREP web analysis software. The average inbreeding coefficients (F) were 1.47% and 0.73% for the divergently selected H and L lines. The rate of inbreeding (ΔF) per generation was 0.5% for the H line and 0.6% in the L line. The overall rates of inbreeding per generation were different in the H and L lines but within acceptable levels. The L line, however, showed an unwanted recent increase in inbreeding that will need to be considered in future. Since 2003, part of the Elsenburg Merino breeding flock was subjected to structured reciprocal within-breed crossing. Lamb survival traits and ewe reproductive performance of purebred (H and L) and reciprocal crosses (HxL and LxH) were evaluated using least squares analyses. Levels of heterosis were also assessed. The mean survival of the two crossbred lines was notably superior to the midparent value in absolute terms, although the contrast did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.098). Further research is required to establish whether this within breed heterosis for lamb survival can be exploited to decrease lamb losses. Reproduction, number of lambs born (NLB) and number of lambs weaned (NLW) in the H line was higher than in the L line (P < 0.05) while the two crossbred lines were intermediate and different from both the H line and the L line (P < 0.05) from the analyses of annual reproduction and overall “lifetime” reproduction across three lambing opportunities. Individual heterosis for annual reproduction was estimated at 2.2% for NLB, 13.8% for NLW and 8.5% for corrected weight of lamb weaned (TWW), with the estimate for NLW reaching significance (P < 0.05). Corresponding estimates for total production over three lambing opportunities were 8.7% for TNLB, 19.1% for TNLW and 13.8% for TTWW, with the estimate for NLW reaching significance (P < 0.05). Ten RAPD markers were used to study molecular divergence between the H and L lines. Phenotypic data on the lifetime reproduction of ewes born in 1999 and 2000 indicated that reproduction in the H line ewes was markedly higher than that of L line contemporaries (P < 0.01). The RAPD assay, conducted on 15 ewes from each line, used eight primers and produced 87% polymorphic loci. The mean coefficient of genetic differentiation between lines (Gst) was estimated to be 0.25. In conclusion, the H and L lines were shown to be divergent for genetic trends and levels of inbreeding. The derived estimates of heterosis may also be used to infer divergence between the lines and significant molecular divergence proven using RAPD assays. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

No description available.

Orientador: Alessandro Francisco Talamini do Amarante / Resumo: Na produção animal o planejamento nutricional inadequado desencadeia grandes prejuízos ao sistema produtivo, trazendo consequências adversas aos animais e menores lucros ao criador. Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a influência da suplementação alimentar sobre a imunidade dos cordeiros, biologia e patogenia de Haemonchus contortus e Trichostrongylus colubriformis. Quarenta e quatro cordeiros machos da raça Dorper com aproximadamente quatro meses e 31,5±3,24 kg de peso corporal foram alocados aleatoriamente em quatro dietas à base de feno triturado, Cynodon dactylon (cv. Tyfton), acrescido de 0%, 25%, 50% ou 75% de concentrado. Em cada dieta sete animais foram infectados com 1.000 larvas infectantes (L3) de H. contortus e 1.000 L3 de T. colubriformis a cada três dias ao longo de 12 semanas. Em cada dieta, quatro animais permaneceram como grupo controle, Não-Infectados. Os grupos experimentais foram: 0%-Infectado, 0%-Não-Infectado, 25%-Infectado, 25%-Não-Infectado, 50%-Infectado, 50%-Não-Infectado, 75%-Infectado e 75%-Não-Infectado. Quanto maior a suplementação, menor a contagem de ovos por grama de fezes (OPG) de H. contortus (P < 0,0001), porém sem influência sobre contagem de OPG de T. colubriformis. O número de fêmeas de H. contortus foi maior no grupo 0% infectado que nas demais dietas (P = 0,0052). Em nenhuma fase parasitária de T. colubriformis houve efeito da Dieta (P > 0,05). Animais da dieta 0%-Infectado tiveram menor volume globular (VG) que seu grupo controle... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Doutor