Paternal Sisters Research Articles

A Case of Two Full Sisters Share Identical Genotypes on the X Chromosome

Abstract X-chromosomal genetic markers are frequently employed in forensic parentage determination owing to their distinctive inheritance patterns. The kinship analysis revealed that two sisters who were not identical twins had identical genotypes on the X chromosome, encompassing 36 X-chromosomal short tandem repeats (X-STRs) and 29 X-chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms (X-SNPs) that spanned the whole X chromosome from the p-telomere to the q-telomere. The identical X-STRs and X-SNPs in the daughters could be the result of linkage or a rare chance of occurrence. This highlights the need for careful analysis and interpretation when dealing with X chromosome markers and that in individual cases, even if two women share an allele at each locus, this does not necessarily mean that they are paternal sisters. The likelihood of random concordance due to maternal alleles must be taken into account.

A Case of Maternal Half-sisters Sharing Alleles at 18 X-chromosomal Short Tandem Repeat Loci

Analysis of X-chromosome short tandem repeats (STRs) is very helpful in deficiency paternity testing. Here, we reported a case of kinship analysis that showed a potentially erroneous inclusion of paternal sisters between two women. The two women shared alleles at 18 X-chromosomal STR loci spanned from 14.76cM (DXS6807) to 184.19cM (DXS7423). When their relatives were not available for testing, biostatistical analysis for the 18 X-chromosomal STR loci and 24 autosomal STR loci revealed the most possible relationship between the two women was paternal sisters. However, when the father of one woman was available, the other father-daughter possibility was excluded. In the end, the likelihood ratio of STR marker and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences confirmed the two women were maternal sisters. This case emphasizes a cautionary interpretation of X chromosomal marker in deficiency paternity cases with female offspring. Even though large parts of the X-chromosome haplotypes shared by two females, additional relatives and extended DNA typing (such as mtDNA) may be needed further to ascertain whether they are paternal or maternal sisters.

Female rhesus macaques discriminate unfamiliar paternal sisters in playback experiments: support for acoustic phenotype matching.

Widespread evidence exists that when relatives live together, kinship plays a central role in shaping the evolution of social behaviour. Previous studies showed that female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) recognize familiar maternal kin using vocal cues. Recognizing paternal kin might, however, be more difficult as rhesus females mate promiscuously during the possible conception period, most probably concealing paternity. Behavioural observations indicate that semi free-ranging female rhesus macaques prefer to associate with their paternal half-sisters in comparison to unrelated females within the same group, particularly when born within the same age cohort. However, the cues and mechanism/s used in paternal kin discrimination remain under debate. Here, we investigated whether female rhesus macaques use the acoustic modality to discriminate between paternal half-sisters and non-kin, and tested familiarity and phenotype matching as the underlying mechanisms. We found that test females responded more often to calls of paternal half-sisters compared with calls of unrelated females, and that this discrimination ability was independent of the level of familiarity between callers and test females, which provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence for acoustic phenotype matching. Our study strengthens the evidence that female rhesus macaques can recognize their paternal kin, and that vocalizations are used as a cue.

Social relationships among adult female baboons (papio cynocephalus) I. Variation in the strength of social bonds

Sociality has positive effects on female fitness in many mammalian species. Among female baboons, those who are most socially integrated reproduce most successfully. Here we test a number of predictions derived from kin selection theory about the strength of social bonds among adult female baboons. Our analyses are based on systematic observations of grooming and association patterns among 118 females living in seven different social groups in the Amboseli Basin of Kenya over a 16-year period. Females in these groups formed the strongest bonds with close kin, including their mothers, daughters, and maternal and paternal sisters. Females were also strongly attracted toward females who were close to their own age, perhaps because peers were often paternal sisters. Females’ bonds with their maternal sisters were strengthened after their mother’s deaths, whereas their relationships with their maternal aunts were weakened after their mother’s death. In addition, females formed stronger bonds with their paternal sisters when no close maternal kin were available, and they compensated for the absence of any close kin by forming strong bonds with nonrelatives. Taken together, these data suggest that social bonds play a vital role in females’ lives, and the ability to establish and maintain strong social bonds may have important fitness consequences for females.

A genetic analysis of litter traits in Bauscat and Giza White rabbits

AbstractAn analysis of doe productivity traits was carried out on 884 litter records including 52 sires and 210 daughters (paternal half sisters) of Bauscat (B) and Giza White (G) rabbits. Traits examined included litter size and weight at birth and at weaning, pre-weaning mortality and mean weight of young at weaning. Year-of-kindling affected most litter traits but no pattern of parity effects on litter size and pre-weaning mortality was observed. Litter weight and mean weight of young at weaning generally increased linearly as parity advanced. Litter size and weight and mean weight of young tended to increase as month of kindling advanced from October to March, and to decrease again during April and May. Pre-weaning mortality decreased as month of kindling advanced up to March and increased thereafter during April and May. The sire of the doe affected all litter traits studied, with the exception of litter size at birth and pre-weaning mortality in the B breed. Estimates of heritability for most of the litter traits were moderate or high. Genetic and phenotypic correlations among litter size traits and between litter size and litter weight traits were positive and relatively moderate or large. Litter weight traits were positively correlated both genetically and phenotypically. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between litter size traits and mean weight of young at weaning were negative and relatively moderate or large.

Genetic and Environmental Differences Between Registered and Grade Holstein Cows

Phenotypic and genetic measures of milk yield were compared for sire-identified registered and grade Holsteins in the United States. First lactation registered cows produced more milk within herd than did grades. Grades were culled more intensely than registered cows, resulting in higher average yield by maturity for remaining grades than for remaining registered cows. Average Cow Index milk was higher overall for grades until 1981. Within herd and year of first calving, registered cows were higher for yield, Cow Index, and sire Predicted Difference since 1974. Analyses for cows alive at a given time or cows with dam Cow Index overestimated grade genetic merit because of differences in selection intensity. No sire identification for two-thirds of grades resulted in substantial data loss and probably over-estimation of grade genetic merit from sire-identified cows. Preferential treatment according to registry status was examined by comparing registered and grade yields within herd, year, and sire. Milk yield of registered cows was 95kg higher than for grade paternal sisters in 1980 to 1984; bias in favor of registered cows was 3kg for Cow Index milk. Bias would be proportional to herdmates of opposite registry status. Average genetic merit of sire-identified registered and grade Holstein cows differed little.

Heritability of Teat Shape and Teat End Shape in Cattle

Lojda L., M. Stavikova, J. Polai!ek.: Heritability of Teat Shape and Teat End Shape in Cattle. Acta vet. Bmo, 51, 1982: 59-67. Heritability of teat shape and teat end shape was studied in Bohemian Pied cows. Teat shape was evaluated by visual inspection and on the basis of indices 11 and II pro­ posed in this study. The coefficients of heritability of the two indices computed from the regression of daughter on dam in 185 dam-daughter pairs were 0.380 ± 0.08 and 0.354 ± 0.08, respectively. The coefficient of heritability of teat end shape com­ puted from the dam-daughter regression was 0.414 ± 0.17, but the coefficient of her i­ tability of this characteristic computed by means of the intraclass correlation coefficient in groups of paternal half sisters sired by 30 bulls was only 0.085. Fourteen pairs. of dizygotic twins were included in the study to investigate their concordance with regard to teat shape and teat end shape. Half of the pairs of twins both had all 4 teats of equal shape; 3, 2 and 1 equally shaped teats were found in 3, 1 and 1 pairs, res­ pectively, and two pairs were completely discordant. The concordance of twins with regard to teat end shape was also considerable: 78.5 per cent of the pairs both had 4, 3 or at least 2 teats with equally shaped ends and only 2 pairs were completely discor­ dant. Where the dams of the twins were available for comparison, their teat and teat end shapes agreed with those of one of their daughters at least. Cattle, heritability, teat shape, teat end shape, mastitis.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Milk and Milk Component Production

Estimates of genetic parameters and environmental correlations were from deviations from modified contemporary average of standardized records of first lactations of Holsteins in Pennsylvania. Records were extended to 305 days and adjusted for month of calving prior to calculation of deviations. Heritabilities from intrasire correlations among paternal sisters were .23, .26, .22, .71, and .64 for yields of milk, fat, and protein, and percentages of fat and protein. Genetic correlations were positive and generally high between yields and between percentages. Correlations of milk yield with percentages were strongly negative. Environmental correlations among paternal sisters in the same herd were .08, .11, .10, −.04, and −.03 for yields of milk, fat, protein, and percentages of fat and protein. These statistics will be useful to plan optimum selection programs and to improve sire evaluation procedures, particularly for protein content and yield.

Accuracy of First Lactation Versus All Lactation Sire Evaluations by Best Linear Unbiased Prediction

Variances of errors of prediction for sire evaluations which included only first records and for those with records of all lactations were compared for bulls of Ayrshire, Guernsey, Jersey, and Brown Swiss breeds used by artificial insemination with daughters having Dairy Herd Improvement records processed at the New York Dairy Records Processing Laboratory. The model for best linear unbiased prediction included fixed effects of sire group and herd-year-season of freshening and random effects of sires within group, sire-by-herd interaction (to account for environmental correlation among paternal sisters), cow within sire and herd, and residual. Variances of solutions for group effects were generally small relative to variances of prediction errors for sire effects. Using all lactation records, however, reduced variances of group solutions by 7 to 14% for groups of sires used artificially and by 20 to 24% for groups used in natural service. Use of all lactation records decreased the variance of prediction error of the sire solutions so that 15 daughters per sire with all lactations gave accuracy equivalent to 25 daughters using only first records; use of all lactation records with 25 daughters gave accuracy equivalent to 40 daughters with only first records. Genetic progress per year from selection of bulls to sire daughters would be expected to be 10 to 15% greater with use of all lactation records than with use of only first lactation records. The comparable increase from selection of bulls to sire replacement bulls would be 3 to 10%. These theoretical increases must be weighed against possible biases from use of records other than first lactation.

Environmental Correlations among Paternal Half-Sisters for Type

Official final scores, scorecard, and descriptive type classifications recorded by the Holstein-Friesian Association from January 1, 1967, through June 30, 1974, were used to estimate environmental correlations among paternal sisters. Single records on 330,740 daughters of 2,434 sires were used. Each sire had at least 20 daughters in five or more herds. Final score and the scorecard traits were adjusted for age. Differences among herds were ignored. Correlations were estimated from differences of intraclass correlations among paternal sisters in one herd from those of one daughter in each herd, differences between product-moment correlations among paternal sisters in same and different herds, and the intra-herd correlation among daughters of the same sire. Methods yielded similar correlations ranging from .16 to .18 for final score, .13 to .16 for general appearance, .09 to .14 for dairy character, .11 to .17 for body capacity, and .11 to .13 for mammary system. Most environmental correlations for descriptive traits were less than .10 as stature, head, front end, and feet ranged from .06 to .15, and rear legs and udder support and floor ranged from .02 to .08.

Comparison of Estimated Daughter Superiority from Pedigree Records with Daughter Evaluation

Daughter superiorities of 240 Holstein bulls of the American Breeders Service and Eastern Artificial Insemination Cooperative (EAIC) were estimated from records of paternal sisters of the sire, dam's records, and records of daughters of the maternal grandsire. Estimated daughter superiority (EDS) was then compared with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's predicted difference for American Breeders Service bulls and with the Northeast Sire Comparison for EAIC bulls. The regression equation on estimated daughter superiority was (−84 + .561 (EDS)) kg for American Breeders Service bulls and (−227 + .654(EDS)) kg for EAIC bulls. The response is not as large as theoretically predicted but does indicate that selection of young bulls with high estimated daughter superiority is an effective method of finding a superior group of young bulls for further sampling.

Relative Selection Efficiency in Retrospect of Selected Young Sires

The indexes used in retrospect in estimating one-half genetic value (daughter superiority) of progeny of 541 Holstein matings contracted by Eastern Artificial Insemination Cooperative were determined. A set of information on relatives to be complete would include records of paternal sisters, the dam, paternal sisters of the dam, maternal sisters, maternal grandam, and maternal sisters of the dam. The average index of daughter superiority for the 541 progeny was between 406 and 455kg of milk, depending on which combination of relatives was used. Paternal sisters accounted for 45 to 50% of the total daughter superiority. Records of maternal relatives, particularly records of the grandam and the dam, generally received too much emphasis relative to theoretical weights. The overemphasis on the dam's records may be due to the greater opportunity for selection of dams than for selection of sires. Efficiency of the indexes actually used in retrospect was computed as the ratio of the average correlation between the retrospective index and the true daughter superiority to average correlation between the index, using theoretical weights and true daughter superiority. The most efficient index in retrospect used records of paternal sisters, the dam, and paternal sisters of the dam, but was only 84% as efficient as the theoretically best index.

Inheritance of Part Lactation in Hariana Cattle

From intrasire regression of daughter on dam and correlations between paternal sisters for milk in first lactation of 452 Hariana cows, the fifth month had the highest heritability and was comparable with that of total lactation production. Heritabilities of cumulative monthly yields increased with each month to the eighth month; however, major gain was from cumulating production of first four to five months. Phenotypic relationship between monthly production and total production was largest for the third month but differed a little from that of the fourth to seventh months. Most of the genetic correlations of monthly and cumulative monthly production with total production approached unity. Expected correlated response in total lactation production for selection on monthly and cumulative monthly production was highest for the fifth month.

Weighting Information from Relatives to Select forMilk in Holsteins

Selection indexes to predict the general breeding values of individual Holsteins for milk production were developed from 7,638 deviations of first lactations from herd averages in a variety of combinations of the cow, her dam, daughters, and sisters. Heritability from the regression of paternal sisters on the cow was 0.246. The multiple correlation of the index with the cow's genotype ranged from 0.50 to 0.73 depending on the kinds and amounts of information available from relatives. Selection by index was compared with mass selection on the cow's own record in a test population of 429 Holstein cows and their 498 daughters. The first record of an unselected daughter was correlated with the cow's index 0.166 and with the cow's own first record 0.140—an increase in accuracy of nearly 19% in favor of index selection. The index appears practical to increase genetic progress for milk production—especially to select dams of future sires.

Weights for the Maternal Relatives of Sires

Summary An intraherd selection index for fat-corrected milk was developed both for first records and for all records utilizing the regressed artificial insemination (A.I.) proofs of 126 bulls as the dependent variable, with the independent variables being the cow (dam of the bull), her dam (79), daughters (258), maternal sisters (171), and paternal sisters (5,910). All records of the cows averaged 1,420lb of milk above herd average and first records were 1,847lb above herd average. The weights for the dam and the paternal sisters were negative. Weights for all records of the cow were negative when large numbers of relatives were available. The index using first records was superior to the index using all records in predicting a cow's breeding value when a large and small number of relatives were available. The index using all records was superior when an intermediate number of relatives was available.

Inheritance of Twinning in a Herd of Holstein-Friesian Cattle1,2

Summary In a large herd of Holstein-Friesian cattle it was found that the sire and dam contribute to twinning tendency among the daughters. The data covered a 30-yr. period and involved 266 twinning cows (14%) out of 1,905 that calved one or more times. There were 313 multiple births among 7,387 calvings (4.2%). After adjustments for age, daughters of twinning cows twinned significantly more frequently than daughters from nontwinning cows. Parents which were themselves twins apparently transmitted twinning tendency no more frequently than if they had been singly born from the same ancestors. Twinning rates among paternal sisters from nontwinning dams were used to divide 23 sires into a low and a high group. Twinning rate among daughters (cow-basis) of the low-level sires from twinning dams was 11.7±2.6%. Similarly for the high-level sires, the rate was 23.3±3.7%. The difference between the two groups was significant (P

Rates of Improvement by Progeny Testing in Dairy Herds of Various Sizes

Summary Rates of genetic gain in milk production by progeny testing were examined, using characteristics of Michigan Holsteins. The production records from 34,073 Holsteins on DHIA test averaged 12,237lb. of milk and 435lb. of fat (305-2×-ME). AI daughters numbered 5,098 from 187 bulls and averaged 12,305lb. of milk and 444lb. of fat. Characteristics found were: repeatability, .46 for milk, .40 for fat; heritabilities from correlations between AI paternal sisters, .31 for milk, .23 for fat; regression of future AI daughters on first n tested AI daughters, n n + 12 for milk and n n + 16 for fat; average age at calving 4.4 yr.; cows removed annually, 26.3%, one-tenth involuntarily in each of the first four lactations and one-fourth in later lactations; and heifers born which come into production, 70%. In herds of less than 100 cows, progeny testing was less efficient in improving the expected rate of genetic gain than the use of young sires selected on the basis of their dams' production. In herds of 100 and 200 cows, progeny testing had a slight advantage over the latter method. Progeny testing in AI populations of 10,000 tested cows gave possibilities of annual genetic progress of from 1.7 to 2.3% of the average annual yield, depending upon the number of sires sampled and the proportion of those sampled which are selected for service. Further improvement seems possible if the percentage of cows on test were increased and if more efficient use were made of the tested bulls in AI service.

A Selection Index for Fat Production in Dairy Cattle Utilizing the Fat Yields of the Cow and Her Close Relatives

Summary An index for intraherd selection for fat production was derived, utilizing the fat yields of the cow and those of her dam, daughters, maternal half sisters, and paternal half sisters. Statistics to construct the index were computed from 23,330 lactation fat yields of 12,405 Jersey cows on HIR test. The intraherd statistics needed to construct the index were: repeatability, 0.412; correlation between maternal half sisters, 0.073; correlation between paternal half sisters, 0.120; and heritability, 0.201. Herd differences accounted for 39% of the total variance. Within herds the year-to-year variation in things which affected all cows alike accounted for 8% of the variance. Progress to be expected by using the index for selections would generally be about 1.10 to 1.15 times faster than by making selections on the cow's own performance alone. The exact ratio for a specific situation would depend on the number of records on the individual, on the number and kinds of relatives, and on the amount of information available about each.

Testing Dairy Bulls under the Penkeeping System in Brazil

summary Grade dairy sires have been used extensively in the dairy regions of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where milk is produced under the penkeeping system. Data from one of these herds showed 0.41 for the repeatability of single records and 0.23 for the heritability of differences in single records of milk yield. These values are similar to those reported in the temperate regions under a widely different kind of management. Variance within and between the 27 sires indicated a correlation of 0.19 between paternal half sisters but may have contained something from common environment and time trends. Variation in the sire indexes did not seem related to the fraction of imported blood. Individual genotypic differences seemed more important than the amount of exogenous blood.

The Heritability of Official Type Ratings and the Correlation between Type Ratings and Butter–Fat Production of Ayrshire Cows

Summary The classification ratings of 3,738 paternal sisters and of 1,601 cows out of classified dams were used to estimate the portion of the differences in official type ratings that is transmitted from parents to offspring. This portion is called heritability and from these data this figure is estimated to be 0.3. Thus offspring inherit about one-third of the observed superiority of the parents’ type, and herd improvement in the type of dairy cattle can be made by the selection of animals that are above the herd average in type for parents of the next generation. The correlation between classification rating and production of butterfat was computed from data on 5,177 cows. Within herds there was an average increase of 13 lb. of butterfat for each increase of one grade of type. The relationships between the classification rating and the first butterfat record of a cow, between the type rating of a cow and her butterfat record begun nearest the date of classification, and between the type rating of a cow and the average of all her butterfat records were statistically highly significant, but they were so low that their practical significance is quite small. The correlation coefficients were 0.16, 0.16, and 0.19, respectively.