Genetic evaluation for birth and conformation traits in dual-purpose Belgian Blue cattle using a mixed inheritance model.

Abstract

The segregation of the causal mutation () in the muscular hypertrophy gene in dual-purpose Belgian Blue (dpBB) cattle is considered to result in greater calving difficulty (dystocia). Establishing adapted genetic evaluations might overcome this situation through efficient selection. However, the heterogeneity of dpBB populations at the locus implies separating the major gene and other polygenic effects in complex modeling. The use of mixed inheritance models may be an interesting option because they simultaneously assume both influences. A genetic evaluation in dpBB based on a mixed inheritance model was developed for birth and conformation traits: gestation length (GL), calving difficulty (CD), birth weight (BiW), and body conformation score (BC). A total of 27,362 animals having records were used for analyses. The total number of animals in the pedigree used to build the numerator relationship matrix was 62,617. Genotypes at the locus were available for 2,671 animals. Missing records at this locus were replaced with genotype probabilities. A total of 13,221 (48.3%) were registered as dpBB, 1,287 (4.7%) as beef Belgian Blue, and 12,854 (47.0%) were unknown. From those 13,221 dpBB animals, 650, 849, and 534 had double or single copies or no copy, respectively, of the causal mutation () in the muscular hypertrophy gene, whereas 11,188 had missing genotypes. This heterogeneity at the locus may be the reason for high variability in the studied traits, that is, high heritability estimates of 0.33, 0.30, 0.38, and 0.43 for GL, CD, BiW, and BC, respectively. In general, additive ( < 0.05) and dominance ( < 0.001) allele substitution for calves and dams had significant impact for all traits. The moderate coefficient of genetic variation (27.80%) and high direct heritability (0.28) for CD suggested genetic variability in dpBB and possible genetic improvement through selection. This variability has allowed dpBB breeders to successfully apply mass selection in the past. Genetic trend means from 1988 to 2016 showed that sire selection for CD within genotype was progressively applied by breeders. The selection intensity was more important for CD in double-muscled lines than in segregated lines. Our study illustrated the possible confusion caused by the use of major genes in selection and the importance of fitting appropriate models such as mixed inheritance models that combine polygenic and gene content information.