Ary Ferreira de Freitas

Genetic parameters for test day milk yield of first lactation Holstein cows estimated by random regression using Legendre polynomials

Data comprising 263,390 test-day (TD) records of 32,448 first parity cows calving in 467 herds between 1991 and 2001 from the Brazilian Holstein Association were used to estimate genetic and permanent environmental variance components in a random regression animal model using Legendre polynomials (LP) of order three to five by REML. Residual variance was assumed to be constant in all or in some classes of lactation periods for each LP. Estimates of genetic and permanent environmental variances did not show any trend due to the increase in the LP order. Residual variance decreased as the order of LP increased when it was assumed constant, and it was highest at the beginning of lactation and relatively constant in mid lactation when assumed to vary between classes. The range for the estimates of heritability (0.27 - 0.42) was similar for all models and was higher in mid lactation. There were only slight differences between the models in both genetic and permanent environmental correlations. Genetic correlations decreased for near unity between adjacent days to values as low as 0.24 between early and late lactation. A five parameter LP to model both genetic and permanent environmental effects and assuming a homogeneous residual variance would be a parsimonious option to fit TD yields of Holstein cows in Brazil.

Association of bGH and Pit-1 gene variants with milk production traits in dairy Gyr bulls

The objective of this study was to obtain genetic marker information in the Gyr breed by analyzing bGH and Pit-1 gene polymorphisms and to verify their association with milk production traits. One sample including 40 Gyr bulls were genotyped at two bGH gene restriction sites (bGH- AluI and bGH-MspI) and at one restriction site in the Pit-1 gene (Pit-1 HinfI). The bGH-MspI(-) allele was favorable for fat milk percentage. The heterozigous Pit-1 HinfI (+/-) bulls were superior for fat milk production, in relation to homozigous Pit-1 HinfI (+/+). The Pit-1 and bGH genes are strong candidates in the dairy cattle QTL search, and zebuine populations are promising samples for this purpose.

Parâmetros genéticos para produções de leite e gordura nas três primeiras lactações de vacas Holandesas

In this study 9,527 lactations of purebreed Holstein cows, calved between 1988 to 1997, from herds in the Minas Gerais State, were analysed. Two data sets were established: one with first lactations only and another with the first lactation until the third one. Milk and fat 305-day yields were analysed using a multivariate mixed model and restricted maximum likelihood procedure (REML). The milk and fat 305 days yields averages were respectively 5,870 ± 1,662 kg and 199 ± 55 kg for set I and 5,521 ± 1,523 kg and 187 ± 50 kg for set II in the first lactation, and 6,421 ± 1,789 kg and 215 ± 58 kg for the second lactation, and 7,045 ± 1,903 kg and 231 ± 60 kg for the third lactation, respectively. Heritabilities estimated for milk and fat yields in set I (first lactation) were .28 ± .04 and .20 ± .03 and using the set II, were .16 ± .09 e .9 ± .9 for milk and fat yields in the first lactation, .17 ± .11 and .20 ± .11 for second one, and .16 ± .10 and .10 ± .16 in third lactation, respectively. Genetic correlations were high and ranged from .86 to 1.0.

Parâmetros genéticos para a produção de leite de controles individuais de vacas da raça Gir estimados com modelos de repetibilidade e regressão aleatória

Data comprising 8,183 test day records of 1,273 first lactations of Gyr cows from herds supervised by ABCZ were used to estimate variance components and genetic parameters for milk yield using repeatability and random regression animal models by REML. Genetic modelling of logarithmic (FAS), exponential (FW) curves was compared to orthogonal Legendre polynomials (LP) of order 3 to 5. Residual variance was assumed to be constant in all (ME=1) or some periods of lactation (ME=4). Lactation milk yield in 305-d was also adjusted by an animal model. Genetic variance, heritability and repeatability for test day milk yields estimated by a repeatability animal model were 1.74 kg2, 0.27, and 0.76, respectively. Genetic variance and heritability estimates for lactation milk yield were respectively 121,094.6 and 0.22. Heritability estimates from FAS and FW, respectively, decreased from 0,59 and 0.74 at the beginning of lactation to 0.20 at the end of the period. Except for a fifth-order LP with ME=1, heritability estimates decreased from around 0,70 at early lactation to 0,30 at the end of lactation. Residual variance estimates were slightly smaller for logarithimic than for exponential curves both for homogeneous and heterogeneous variance assumptions. Estimates of residual variance in all stages of lactation decreased as the order of LP increased and depended on the assumption about ME. Estimates of genetic and permanent environment variances did not show any trend due to the increase in the order of LP. Genetic correlation estimates between TD were largest for LP and larger for FW than for FAS. Except for FAS, a similar pattern in genetic correlation estimates was observed for all curves decreasing from values close to unity between adjacent TD at early lactation to negative values for TD in the beginning and the end of lactation. The Legendre polynomial of order five and the FAS under ME4 best fitted the data. There is a potential for using random regression to model animal genetic and permanent environmental effects using test day information of Gyr cows.

Genetic parameters for milk production by using random regression models with different alternatives of fixed regression modeling

Records of test-day milk yields of the first three lactations of 25,500 Holstein cows were used to estimate genetic parameters for milk yield by using two alternatives of definition of fixed regression of the random regression models (RRM). Legendre polynomials of fourth and fifth orders were used to model regression of fixed curve (defined based on averages of the populations or multiple sub-populations formed by grouping animals which calved at the same age and in the same season of the year) or random lactation curves (additive genetic and permanent enviroment). Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) indicated that the models which used multiple regression of fixed lactation curves of lactation multiple regression model with fixed lactation curves had the best fit for the first lactation test-day milk yields and the models which used a single regression of fixed curve had the best fit for the second and third lactations. Heritability for milk yield during lactation estimates did not vary among models but ranged from 0.22 to 0.34, from 0.11 to 0.21, and from 0.10 to 0.20, respectively, in the first three lactations. Similarly to heridability estimates of genetic correlations did not vary among models. The use of single or multiple fixed regressions for fixed lactation curves by RRM does not influence the estimates of genetic parameters for test-day milk yield across lactations.

Avaliação de ácidos orgânicos em dietas para leitões de 21 a 49 dias de idade

Objetivou-se estudar os efeitos da proporcao crescente de acidos orgânicos na dieta sobre o desempenho e a incidencia de diarreia em leitoes no periodo de 21 a 49 dias de idade. Os tratamentos foram constituidos de uma dieta basal e tres dietas suplementadas com 0,78; 0,84; e 0,90% (21 a 35 dias de idade) e 0,59; 0,63; e 0,66% (36 a 49 dias de idade) de acidos orgânicos a base de acido lactico. Avaliaram-se o consumo de racao medio diario (CRMD), o ganho de peso medio diario (GPMD), a conversao alimentar (CA) e o escore fecal dos leitoes. O CRMD e o GPMD nao variaram entre as proporcoes de acidos orgânicos nos periodos avaliados. A CA dos leitoes que receberam 0,84% de acidos orgânicos foi melhor que a daqueles que receberam as dietas basal e com 0,90% de acido no periodo de 21 a 35 dias. Os leitoes que receberam 0,84% de acidos apresentaram menor escore fecal em relacao aos alimentados com 0,90%. Amostras de sangue foram coletadas para dosar a concentracao plasmatica de acido lactico de leitoes aos 35 dias. A concentracao de acido lactico dos animais que receberam 0,90% de acido aumentou em 60,61% em relacao a do grupo da dieta basal. Isolaram-se bacterias das fezes dos animais para identificacao de microrganismos. As proporcoes de 0,84 e 0,63% de acidos orgânicos, respectivamente, nas fases de 21 a 35 e de 36 a 49 dias foram mais eficientes, considerando-se que nao foram isoladas as bacterias E. coli a-hemolise e Streptococcus sp. A utilizacao de 0,84% de acidos orgânicos na dieta proporcionou melhor conversao alimentar no periodo de 21 a 35 dias de idade e melhor consistencia de fezes e controle de E. coli a-hemolise e Streptococcus sp com a suplementacao de 0,84% de acidos no periodo de 21 a 35 dias e de 0,63% no periodo de 36 a 49 dias.

Influência de fatores de meio ambiente na variação mensal da composição e contagem de células somáticas do leite em rebanhos no Estado de Minas Gerais

A total of 102,098 individual monthly-test-day records of Holstein cows from 189 herds of the state of Minas Gerais from January 1999 to December 2001 were used to evaluate the effects of environmental factors on the composition and somatic cell counts (CCSs) of milk. The CCSs were transformed to somatic cell scores (SCSs). Unadjusted means and standard deviations for milk yield, fat and protein percentages, and SCSs were, respectively, 22.87 and 7.35kg, 3.56 and 0.72%, 3.15 and 0.37%, 3.07 and 2.33 for first parity and 24.99 and 9.33kg, 3.57 and 0.76%, 3.14 and 0.38%, 4.23 and 2.3 for later parities. Least squares methodologies were used and the analyses were separated within lactation age group as first and later parities. Effects of herd-year, month of calving, days in milk, season of calving, age at calving and breed group were considered in order to explain total variations. In both data sets, except for protein percentage, for which days in milk was the most contributing effect for the variation, herd-year was responsible for most of the variation, followed by days in milk. The effect of herd-year was also the most important to explain the variation of SCSs, respectively, 19.0 and 34.6% for first and later parities, followed in importance by days in milk, respectively, 4.4 and 4.0% of the total variation. Milk fat and protein percentages were high early in the lactation, decreased to a minimum near 50 days followed by a steady increase to the end of the lactation while milk yield decreased. Fat and protein percentages were highest in winter and lowest in summer months. Seasonal variations of these components followed opposed trends of milk yield. The SCSs were high in the first 10 days of lactation decreasing to a minimum value respectively, from 50 to 60, and from 30 to 40 days for first and later parities and then increasing with similar rates to the end of the lactation. The variation of SCSs with month was similar for first and later parities. SCSs increased from February to June, and then decreased to a minimum in October. The increase of SCSs with cow age was curvilinear in first and linear in later lactations.

Tendência genética para a produção de leite e de gordura em rebanhos da raça Holandesa no Estado de Minas Gerais

The objective of this work was to estimate the genetic trends for milk and fat yields of Holstein Dairy Cattle, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The statistical analyses were made by means of mixed models, using restricted maximum likelihood and animal model. The fixed effects studied were: herd-year-season at calving and linear and quadratic effect of age at calving besides the animal and residual random effects. The genetic trends were obtained by regression of the breeding value on the year of birth of cows. Records used in the analyses were 18,482 first lactations of cows born from 1986 to 1996. The genetic trends for milk and fat yield were 18.4 and 0.6 kg, respectively. The average of milk and fat yields were 5083 ± 50 to 6876 ± 51 kg, and from 172.6 ± 1.7 to 228.5 ± 1.7 kg, respectively. The breeding values estimated were negative in 1986 and 1987, and positive thereafter, with accentuate increase in the last years. This is an indication that milk farmers of Minas Gerais State have been taking strategies in order to increase the milk productions.

Comparação da produção de leite e de gordura e da duração da lactação entre cinco "graus de sangue" originados de cruzamentos entre Holandês e Gir em Minas Gerais

Milk yield, fat yield and lactation length of five crossbred (Holstein x Gir) groups (1/2, 3/4, 7/8, 15/16 e 31/32) were studied. Data were divided in three groups, that holded the following number of records and number of herds: group 1- 9,817 lactation records, 3,012 first lactation records and 122 herds; group 2- 7,839 lactation records, 2,334 first lactation records and 75 herds: group 3- 5,236 lactation records, 1,468 first lactation records and 38 herds. The means for milk yield, fat yield and length of lactation in groups 1, 2 and 3, for all lactation records were, respectively: 4,532±17kg, 157±1kg and 290±1 days, 4,514±18kg, 157±1kg and 292±1 days, and 4,495±22kg, 156±1kg, and 293±1 days. The 31/32 crossbred group showed better performance than the other groups in milk yield, fat yield and length of lactation. The 7/8 and 15/16 crossbred groups presented intermediary performance and 1/2 crossbred group showed the lowest performance.

Parâmetros genéticos entre características de leite, de peso e a idade ao primeiro parto em gado mestiço leiteiro (Bos taurus x Bos indicus)

Genetic correlations between milk production (milk, fat, protein yield lactation length in 305-d lactation), live weight (average cow live weight, growth rate between 12-24 mo) and age at first calving traits were estimated in a population of Mestico Leiteiro Brasileiro (MLB) females using REML methodology and animal model. The estimates of heritability were respectively, 0.28± 0.08, 0.30±0.11, 0.28±0.09, 0.19±0.07, 0.18±0.06, 0.42±0.10 and 0.48±0.12 for those traits. Genetic correlations between milk, fat and protein yield with cow average weight were, respectively, -0.22±0.22, -0.49±0.31, -0.22±0.23, and between milk, fat and protein yield with heifer live weight gain, -0.59±0.35, -0.73±0.44, -0.62±0.37 as well. Genetic correlations between milk yield, cow average weight and heifer live weight gain with age at first calving were, respectively, 0.05±0.18, -0.05±0.18, 0.02±0.20. The high genetic correlation between milk production and lactation length (0.93±0.02) indicated that variation of the lactation length should not be removed when selecting tropical dairy cattle.