Strategies to improve the efficiency of genomic selection in animal breeding programs

Author(s)

Haroldo Henrique de Rezende Neves

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Jaboticabal. 2014-06-11.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias. Jaboticabal
• Defense date: 2013-09-12
• Advisor: Sandra Aidar de Queiroz; Roberto Carvalheiro

Abstract

Improvements in production levels and product quality are needed in livestock systems to meet the growing world demand for animal-source foods. Besides this increasing demand, the productive sector must deal with constraints related to competition for land, greenhouse gas emissions and also due to hardening legislation in the fields of environment and animal welfare (FAO, 2011). In this context, animal breeding has played and will continue to play an important role to improve the efficiency of such production systems, especially in terms of competitiveness, safety, sustainability and biodiversity conservation (Harlizius et al., 2004). The main objective of animal breeding programs is to improve the performance of the next generations, through identification and reproduction of the animals with better genetic pool to efficiently produce in a specific environment (herein, superior animals). In the last decades, animal breeders succeeded in achieving this goal, mostly through the application of statistical tools grounded in quantitative genetics theory, what could be called as 'classical animal breeding'. In this case, the traditional prediction of the genetic merit of individuals (estimated breeding values, EBV) is obtained based on information of pedigree and phenotypes (own records and measures on relatives). With the advent of dense molecular marker panels, the implementation and design of breeding programs, especially in dairy cattle, had changed dramatically as a consequence of incorporating this new information to identify superior animals earlier and more precisely. Pioneer simulation studies drew attention of animal breeders to the possibility of making accurate predictions of the genetic merit of individuals by using genotypic information from dense marker panels, a process known as genomic selection (GS) (Nejati-Javaremi et al., 1997; Meuwissen et al., 2001). Other influential work ... (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/06185-4 - Strategies to improve efficiency of genomic selection in animal breeding programs
• Grantee: Haroldo Henrique de Rezende Neves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate