Genetic inbreeding depression load for fertility traits in Pura Raza Española mares

Perdomo-González, D.I. ; Molina, A. ; Sánchez-Guerrero, M.J. ; Bartolomé, E. ; Varona, L. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Valera, M.

Resumen: Fertility is a key factor in the economic success of horse farms. However, it has received little attention due to the difficulty of measuring fertility objectively. Since its studbook creation (1912), the Pura Raza Española (PRE) breed has been a closed population and become high in-bred resulting in inbreeding depression (poor phenotypic values). Nevertheless, heterogeneous effects of inbreeding depression have been detected among founders and nonfounders. The aims of this study were (1) to analyze the genetic parameters for reproductive traits in mares of the PRE horse breed and (2) to estimate, for the first time, the inbreeding depression load associated with common ancestors of the breed. A total of 22, 799 mares were analyzed. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.05 (interval between first and second foaling) to 0.16 (age at first foaling), whereas inbreeding depression load ratios ranged from 0.06 (parturition efficiency at 6th foaling) to 0.17 (age at first foaling), for a partial inbreeding coefficient of 10%. Although heritability is related to the variability expressed in the population, inbreeding depression load ratios measure the potential variability, whether expressed in the population or not. Most correlations between additive and inbreeding depression load genetic values were significant (P < 0.001) and of low to moderate magnitude. Our results confirm that individual inbreeding depression loads allow us to select horses that have a genetic value resistant to the deleterious effects of inbreeding. © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1093/jas/skab316

Año: 2021

Publicado en: Journal of Animal Science 99, 12 (2021), skab316 [10 pp.]
ISSN: 0021-8812

Factor impacto JCR: 3.338 (2021)

Categ. JCR: AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE rank: 10 / 63 = 0.159 (2021) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.7 - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Q1) - Medicine (Q2) - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.854 - Animal Science and Zoology (Q1) - Medicine (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Food Science (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/AGL2017-84217-P

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Genética (Dpto. Anatom.,Embri.Genét.Ani.)