Wuttigrai Boonkum

Estimation of genetic parameters for heat stress, including dominance gene effects, on milk yield in Thai Holstein dairy cattle.

Heat stress in tropical regions is a major cause that strongly negatively affects to milk production in dairy cattle. Genetic selection for dairy heat tolerance is powerful technique to improve genetic performance. Therefore, the current study aimed to estimate genetic parameters and investigate the threshold point of heat stress for milk yield. Data included 52 701 test-day milk yield records for the first parity from 6247 Thai Holstein dairy cattle, covering the period 1990 to 2007. The random regression test day model with EM-REML was used to estimate variance components, genetic parameters and milk production loss. A decline in milk production was found when temperature and humidity index (THI) exceeded a threshold of 74, also it was associated with the high percentage of Holstein genetics. All variance component estimates increased with THI. The estimate of heritability of test-day milk yield was 0.231. Dominance variance as a proportion to additive variance (0.035) indicated that non-additive effects might not be of concern for milk genetics studies in Thai Holstein cattle. Correlations between genetic and permanent environmental effects, for regular conditions and due to heat stress, were - 0.223 and - 0.521, respectively. The heritability and genetic correlations from this study show that simultaneous selection for milk production and heat tolerance is possible.

Association of BoLA-DRB3 alleles with tick-borne disease tolerance in dairy cattle in a tropical environment

Tick-borne disease is one of the most harmful tropical diseases in dairy production. Selection of dairy cows for tolerance to tick-borne disease is a challenging concept for dairy breeders in the tropics. The objectives of this study were (1) to detect specific tick-borne pathogen in cattle of different genetics and (2) to examine the polymorphisms of DRB3.2 alleles in Thai dairy cattle and find the allelic association with tick-borne disease tolerance. Specific primers to Anaplasma marginale (AM), Babesia bigemina (BG) and Babesia bovis (BB) were used to detect the infections by PCR. The results showed that the high proportion of infections were found in Bos indicus (Sahiwal, n=95) and crossbred Holstein × Zebu (75:25 Holstein:Zebu, n=101), compared to high Holstein fraction crossbreed (≥ 87.5% Holstein, n=187). The proportion of triple infections was also highly found in high Holstein fractions crossbreed. This study confirmed that Zebuine (Bos indicus) had a higher degree of tolerance, even when infected by tick-borne pathogens, compared to high Holstein fraction crossbred. The associated alleles of DRB3.2 for tick-borne pathogen infection tolerance were found: DRB3*14 and *41 were found to be tolerant to A. marginale; *14 to B. bovis; and *10 and *51 to B. bigemina. These tolerance alleles could be used as potential markers for selection in dairy genetic evaluation. The associated alleles for susceptibility were also found: *2 was found to be susceptible to A. marginale; *3 and *16 to B. bovis; and *20 to B. bigemina. These susceptibility alleles could be used as markers for culling, and selection favoring susceptibility alleles should be considered to maintain heterozygote advantage and pathogen-specific memories in the herd.

Insulin-like growth factor I gene polymorphism associated with growth and carcass traits in Thai synthetic chickens.

Four Thai synthetic chicken lines (Kaen Thong, Khai Mook Esarn, Soi Nin, and Soi Pet) originated from Thai native and exotic commercial chickens were evaluated for their growth and carcass traits with the purpose of developing a Thai broiler breeding program. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene is known to play an important role in growth, proliferation and differentiation. Consequently, we investigated the possibility of using the IGF-I gene for marker-assisted selection in Thai synthetic chickens. We looked for variations in the IGF-I gene and studied their association with growth and carcass traits; 1046 chickens were genotyped using PCR-RFLP methods. A general linear model was used to analyze associations of the IGF-I polymorphism with growth and carcass traits. Kaen Thong, Khai Mook Esarn, and Soi Nin chickens were found to carry similar frequencies of alleles A and C (0.40-0.60), while Soi Pet chickens had high frequencies of allele C (0.75). The IGF-I gene was significantly associated with some growth traits (body weight at hatching, and at 4, 8, 12, and 14 weeks of age; average daily gain during 0-12 and 0-14 weeks of age) in all synthetic chickens. Carcass traits (the percentage of dressing and pectoralis major) were significantly different only in Khai Mook Esarn chickens. We conclude that IGF-I can be used as a marker gene for the selection of growth and carcass traits of synthetic chickens in a marker-assisted selection program.

Genetic evaluation of egg production curve in Thai native chickens by random regression and spline models

&NA; The objective of this research is to investigate appropriate random regression models with various covariance functions, for the genetic evaluation of test‐day egg production. Data included 7,884 monthly egg production records from 657 Thai native chickens (Pradu Hang Dam) that were obtained during the first to sixth generation and were born during 2007 to 2014 at the Research and Development Network Center for Animal Breeding (Native Chickens), Khon Kaen University. Average annual and monthly egg productions were 117 ± 41 and 10.20 ± 6.40 eggs, respectively. Nine random regression models were analyzed using the Wilmink function (WM), Koops and Grossman function (KG), Legendre polynomials functions with second, third, and fourth orders (LG2, LG3, LG4), and spline functions with 4, 5, 6, and 8 knots (SP4, SP5, SP6, and SP8). All covariance functions were nested within the same additive genetic and permanent environmental random effects, and the variance components were estimated by Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML). In model comparisons, mean square error (MSE) and the coefficient of detemination (R2) calculated the goodness of fit; and the correlation between observed and predicted values Symbol was used to calculate the cross‐validated predictive abilities. We found that the covariance functions of SP5, SP6, and SP8 proved appropriate for the genetic evaluation of the egg production curves for Thai native chickens. The estimated heritability of monthly egg production ranged from 0.07 to 0.39, and the highest heritability was found during the first to third months of egg production. In conclusion, the spline functions within monthly egg production can be applied to breeding programs for the improvement of both egg number and persistence of egg production. Symbol. No caption available.

Genetic analysis of the rates of conception using a longitudinal threshold model with random regression in dairy crossbreeding within a tropical environment.

This study was designed to: (i) estimate genetic parameters and breeding values for conception rates (CR) using the repeatability threshold model (RP-THM) and random regression threshold models (RR-THM); and (ii) compare covariance functions for modeling the additive genetic (AG) and permanent environmental (PE) effects in the RR-THM. The CR was defined as the outcome of an insemination. A data set of 130 592 first-lactation insemination records of 55 789 Thai dairy cows, calving between 1996 and 2011, was used in the analyses. All models included fixed effects of year × month of insemination, breed × day in milk to insemination class and age at calving. The random effects consisted of herd × year interaction, service sire, PE, AG and residual. Variance components were estimated using a Bayesian method via Gibbs sampling. Heritability estimates of CR ranged from 0.032 to 0.067, 0.037 to 0.165 and 0.045 to 0.218 for RR-THM with the second, third and fourth-order of Legendre polynomials, respectively. The heritability estimated from RP-THM was 0.056. Model comparisons based on goodness of fit, predictive abilities, predicted service results of animal, and pattern of genetic parameter estimates, indicated that the model which fit the desired outcome of insemination was the RR-THM with two regression coefficients.

Hsp70 Genotypes and Heat Tolerance of Commercial and Native Chickens Reared in Hot and Humid Conditions

Heat tolerance in poultry production was obtained attention due to the need for genetic lines that can withstand climate changes. This study aimed at investigating heat tolerance in commercial and native broiler genetics, as well as the physiological and growth performance responses of HSP70 genotypes submitted to heat stress. In Experiment I, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, as an indicator of heat tolerance, was compared between commercial broilers (n = 100) and Thai native chickens (n = 100). Growing chickens (with similar initial weight) of each genetic strain were randomly divided into two groups: 1) thermoneutral environment (26 oC ± 2 oC) and 2) heat stress (36 oC ± 2 oC). The results showed that native chickens originating from a tropical environment presented lower H:L ratio and mortality rate compared with commercial broilers. In Experiment II, HSP70 genotypes were compared. PCRRFLP was applied to identify the genotypes (C1C1, n = 38; C1C2, n = 38; and C2C2, n = 28). Ten-week-old chickens of each genotype were evaluated in the same environments described in Experiment I. Heat-stress indicators – respiratory rate (RR), cloacal temperature (CT), packed cell volume (PCV), and average daily gain (ADG) – were measured for three weeks. The significant difference in PCV indicated that C2C2 chickens were less tolerant to heat stress compared to other genotypes. The RR, CT, and ADG were not significantly different among all genotypes. Since the C2C2 genotype was shown to be sensitive to heat stress, C1C1 and C1C2 could be used as markers for heat-tolerant genetic strains of Thai indigenous chickens and hybrid commercial lines.

Genetic associations between milk fat‐to‐protein ratio, milk production and fertility in the first two lactations of Thai Holsteins dairy cattle

The aims of this study were to estimate, simultaneously, the genetic parameters of test-day milk fat-to-protein ratio (FPR), test-day milk yield (MY), and days-open (DO) in the first two lactations of Thai Holsteins. A total of 76 194 test-day production records collected from 8874 cows with 8674 DO records between 2001 and 2011 from different lactations were treated as separated traits. The estimates of heritability for test-day FPR in the first lactation showed an increasing trend, whereas the estimates in the second lactation showed a U-shape trend. Genetic correlations for FPR-DO and MY-DO showed a decreasing trend along days in milk (DIM) in both lactations, whereas genetic correlations for FPR-MY increased along DIM in the first lactation but decreased in the second lactation. Genetic correlations of FPR between consecutive DIM were moderate to high, which showed the effectiveness of simultaneous analyses. Selection of FPR in the early stage has no adverse effect on MY and DO for the first lactation but has a negative effect on MY and positive effect on DO for the second lactation. This study showed that genetic improvement of the energy balance using FPR, MY and DO with multi-trait test day model could be applied in a Thailand dairy cattle breeding program.

Genetic evaluation using random regression models with different covariance functions for test-day milk yield in an admixture population of Thailand goats

The objectives of this study were to compare covariance functions (CF) and estimate the heritability of milk yield from test-day records among exotic (Saanen, Anglo-Nubian, Toggenburg and Alpine) and crossbred goats (Thai native and exotic breed), using a random regression model. A total of 1472 records of test-day milk yield were used, collected from 112 does between 2003 and 2006. CF of the study were Wilmink function, second- and third-order Legendre polynomials, and linear splines 4 knots located at 5, 25, 90 and 155 days in milk (SP25-90) and 5, 35, 95 and 155 of days in milk (SP35-95). Variance components were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML). Goodness of fit, Akaike information criterion (AIC), percentage of squared bias (PSB), mean square error (MSE), and empirical correlation (RHO) between the observed and predicted values were used to compare models. The results showed that CF had an impact on (co)variance estimation in random regression models (RRM). The RRM with splines 4 knots located at 5, 25, 90 and 155 of days in milk had the lowest AIC, PSB and MSE, and the highest RHO. The heritability estimated throughout lactation obtained with this model ranged from 0.13 to 0.23.

The identification of novel regions for reproduction trait in Landrace and Large White pigs using a single step genome-wide association study

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate a single step genome-wide association study (ssGWAS) for identifying genomic regions affecting reproductive traits in Landrace and Large White pigs. Methods The traits included the number of pigs weaned per sow per year (PWSY), the number of litters per sow per year (LSY), pigs weaned per litters (PWL), born alive per litters (BAL), non-productive day (NPD) and wean to conception interval per litters (W2CL). A total of 321 animals (140 Landrace and 181 Large White pigs) were genotyped with the Illumina Porcine SNP 60k BeadChip, containing 61,177 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), while multiple traits single-step genomic BLUP method was used to calculate variances of 5 SNP windows for 11,048 Landrace and 13,985 Large White data records. Results The outcome of ssGWAS on the reproductive traits identified twenty-five and twenty-two SNPs associated with reproductive traits in Landrace and Large White, respectively. Three known genes were identified to be candidate genes in Landrace pigs including retinol binding protein 7, and ubiquitination factor E4B genes for PWL, BAL, W2CL, and PWSY and one gene, solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 6A1, for LSY and NPD. Meanwhile, five genes were identified to be candidate genes in Large White, two of which, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A3 and leucine rich repeat kinase 1, associated with all of six reproduction traits and three genes; retrotransposon Gag like 4, transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 5, and LHFPL tetraspan subfamily member 1 for five traits except W2CL. Conclusion The genomic regions identified in this study provided a start-up point for marker assisted selection and estimating genomic breeding values for improving reproductive traits in commercial pig populations.

Genetic correlation and genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the length of productive life, days open, and 305-days milk yield in crossbred Holstein dairy cattle

In this study, we estimated the genetic parameters and identified the putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with the length of productive life (LPL), days open (DO), and 305-day milk yield for the first lactation (FM305) of crossbred Holstein dairy cattle. Data comprising 4,739 records collected between 1986 and 2004 were used to estimate the variance-covariance components using the multiple-trait animal linear mixed models based on the average information restricted maximum likelihood (AI-REML) algorithm. Thirty-six animals were genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 Bead Chip [>50,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] to identify the putative QTL in a genome-wide association study. The heritability of the production trait FM305 was 0.25 and that of the functional traits, LPL and DO, was low (0.10 and 0.06, respectively). The genetic correlation estimates demonstrated favorable negative correlations between LPL and DO (-0.02). However, we observed a favorable positive correlation between FM305 and LPL (0.43) and an unfavorable positive correlation between FM305 and DO (0.1). The GWAS results indicated that 23 QTLs on bovine chromosomes 1, 4, 5, 8, 15, 26, and X were associated with the traits of interest, and the putative QTL regions were identified within seven genes (SYT1, DOCK11, KLHL13, IL13RA1, PRKG1, GNA14, and LRRC4C). In conclusion, the heritability estimates of the LPL and DO were low. Therefore, the approach of multiple-trait selection indexes should be applied, and the QTL identified here should be considered for use in marker-assisted selection in the future.