Impact of maternal genetic effect on genetic parameter estimation of production traits for Qinghai fine-wool sheep

Abstract

The maternal genetic effects on estimating genetic parameters for growth traits and wool traits of Qinghai fine-wool sheep were investigated.The genetic parameters for production traits of Qinghai fine-wool sheep were estimated by average information restricted maximum likelihood (AIREML) with different animal models, and the differences between different animal models were tested by likelihood ratio test. Fixed effects, direct genetic effects, and residual effects were included all models; and random effects were individual permanence environmental effects, maternal genetic effects, and maternal permanence environmental effects. The six models differ in the way of considering random effects: in model 1 individual permanence environmental effects, maternal genetic effects, and maternal permanence environmental effects were not contained; in model 2 maternal permanence environmental effects were included; in model 3 maternal genetic effects were included; in model 4 both maternal genetic effects and maternal permanence environmental effects were include; in model 5 both individual permanence environmental effects and maternal genetic effects were contained;in model 6 all random effects were contained. The direct heritabilities were 0.1896~0.3781, 0.2537~0.2890, 0.2244~0.3225, 0.2205~0.3983, 0.1218~0.1490, 0.0983~0.4802, and 0.1170~0.1311 for birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, hogget weight,greasy fleece weight, fiber diameter, and staple length,respectively. Compared with model 1, model 3 was-significant(P<0.01) for birth weight and weaning weight, other models were not significant (P>0.05)for Yearling weight, Hogget weight; and paralleled with model 6, both model 4 and model 5 were significant(P<0.01) for fiber diameter,model 4 was significant(P<0.05) for staple length, and other models were not significant(P>0.05) for greasy fleece weight by likelihood ratio test.The maternal effects were important determinants of estimated the genetic parameters for birth weight, weaning weigh, fiber diameter, and staple length, but were not significant for yearling weight, and hogget weight, and was slightly significant for greasy fleece weight.