| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
ANIMAL GENETICS |
* Unitat de Cunicultura, IRTA, 08140 Caldes de Montbuí, Barcelona, Spain; and
and
Area de Producció Animal, Centre UdL–IRTA, 25198 Lleida, Spain
1 Correspondence: Torre Marimón s/n. (phone: +34 93 865 1011; fax: +34 93 865 3777; e-mail: miriam.piles{at}irta.es).
A Bayesian analysis with a threshold model was performed for fertility defined as a binary trait (1 = successful mating, 0 = unsuccessful mating) in two populations of rabbits of different reproductive potential and different genetic origin: Line P selected for litter size and Line C selected for growth rate. There were 20,793 records of natural mating (86.2% successful) in Line C between 1983 and 2003, and 17,548 records (80.5% successful) in Line P, between 1992 and 2003. Data related to 5,388 and 3,848 females and 1,021 and 685 males in Lines C and P, respectively. The pedigree included 6,409 and 4,533 individuals in Lines C and P, respectively. The binary response was modeled under a probit approach. The model for the latent variable included male and female additive genetic effects, male and female permanent environmental effects, and the year-season and physiological status of the female (nulliparous, multiparous lactating, or multiparous nonlactating) as systematic effects. Means (standard deviation in parentheses) of the estimated marginal posterior distribution (EMPD) of male heritability were 0.013 (0.006) and 0.010 (0.008) in Lines C and P, respectively, and those of EMPD of female heritability were 0.056 (0.013) and 0.062 (0.018) in Lines C and P, respectively. Means of the EMPD of the proportion of the phenotypic variance due to environmental male and female effects were, respectively, 0.031 (0.007) and 0.128 (0.018) in Line C and 0.053 (0.010) and 0.231 (0.024) in Line P. Means (standard deviations in parentheses) of the EMPD of genetic correlation between male and female fertility were 0.733 (0.197) in Line C and 0.434 (0.381) in Line P. The posterior distribution of genetic correlations presents a huge dispersion, and the estimates should be taken with caution because of the almost negligible estimate of the male genetic component. Results indicate that little genetic variation exists for female fertility, and practically none for male fertility. It would, therefore, be possible to improve reproductive performance by including female fertility in a breeding program, but response to selection would be very small.
Key Words: Bayesian Theory • Fertility • Genetic Parameters • Rabbit • Threshold Model
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  I. David, L. Bodin, D. Gianola, A. Legarra, E. Manfredi, and C. Robert-Granie Product versus additive threshold models for analysis of reproduction outcomes in animal genetics J Anim Sci, August 1, 2009; 87(8): 2510 - 2518. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. David, J. M. Astruc, G. Lagriffoul, E. Manfredi, C. Robert-Granie, and L. Bodin Genetic Correlation Between Female Fertility and Milk Yield in Lacaune Sheep J Dairy Sci, October 1, 2008; 91(10): 4047 - 4052. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. P. Sanchez, P. Theilgaard, C. Minguez, and M. Baselga Constitution and evaluation of a long-lived productive rabbit line J Anim Sci, March 1, 2008; 86(3): 515 - 525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. David, L. Bodin, G. Lagriffoul, C. Leymarie, E. Manfredi, and C. Robert-Granie Genetic Analysis of Male and Female Fertility After Artificial Insemination in Sheep: Comparison of Single-Trait and Joint Models J Dairy Sci, August 1, 2007; 90(8): 3917 - 3923. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
