Genomic prediction of breeding values for reproductive and carcass traits in montana tropical composite cattle

• Grant number: 22/00686-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Genetics and Improvement of Domestic Animals
• Principal Investigator: José Bento Sterman Ferraz
• Grantee: Gabriel Costa Medeiros
• Supervisor: Luiz Fernando Brito
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Purdue University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/03714-0 - Prediction of genomic estimated breeding values for reproductive traits, evaluated in females, for composite beef bulls, BP.IC

Abstract

Beef cattle is one of the main and most important components of the economy linked to agribusiness in Brazil. The country is recognized as one of the world's leading producers and exporters of beef. The development and use of composite breed animals, such as Montana Composto Tropical®, a concept that makes use of the combination of different biological types, represents a promising alternative to maximize production due to the exploitation of heterosis retention and complementarity between the Bos taurus taurus and Bos taurus indicus subspecies. Several methodologies have been applied in order to implement genomic selection in livestock populations, but less in composite or crossbred populations. Considering the complexity of reproductive traits as well as their sex-dependent phenotypic expression, it is crucial to evaluate new methodologies and understand the implications of applying genomic predictions, in order to improve the reproductive efficiency of bulls, heifers, and cows, obtaining reliable information and creating opportunities to improve the reproductive efficiency of composite animals with genomic selection. Carcass traits are paramount for optimizing the profitability of the beef cattle industry. Therefore, the search for tools that can increase the reliability of the estimated breeding values for these traits is essential for the selection of breeding animals. The objective with the development of this study is to evaluate the inclusion of genomic information in the prediction of genomic breeding values, using pseudo-phenotypes in reproductive and carcass traits in Montana Composto Tropical® cattle. The database used will be approximately 100,000 phenotypic data for reproductive traits and 10,000 for carcass traits, 370,000 animals included in the pedigree and approximately 3,000 genotyped animals. For the deregression of the predicted genomic values and obtaining the pseudo-phenotypes, three methods will be used and the prediction of genomic breeding values will be through the GBLUP method. This applies to the selection objectives of the Montana Composto Tropical® Program, which aims to produce animals with high meat quality, growth performance, and reproductive efficiency. The verification of the impact of pseudo-phenotype methodologies integrated to genomics, in this population, is important for the selection program and for livestock populations in tropical areas around the world. (AU)