565. A study of variation in twin cattle: III. Growth

Abstract

1. Polynomial coefficients have been fitted to data on growth in live weight to 19 months and on height at withers to 27 months of age shown by one-egg (MZ) and two-egg (DZ) twins and pairs of half-sisters (HZ). The coefficients obtained (a0, a2 and a3) have been subjected to analysis of variance.2. For growth in live weight, the ratio of intrapair variances for MZ, DZ and HZ pairs was 1:6·8:10 for a1, which gives the straight line best fitting the observed curve. Unrelated pairs, it is calculated, would have had an intrapair variance 20·9 times as great as MZ pairs. From the point of view of minimizing the intrapair variance, the advantage of the MZ pairs was usually a little less for a0, and considerably less for a2 and a3.3. For height at withers, the results were similar to those for weight.4. The contribution of environmental variance to total intrapair variance increased from a0 to a3, while that due to additive genetic effects diminished. Owing to the wide fiducial limits applicable, the results can be accommodated assuming only additive genetic effects in addition to environmental effects as estimated from one-egg twins. The extent to which HZ pairs exceeded the variance expected, however, suggests that this simple assumption may prove inadequate.