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Genetic principal components for reproductive and productive traits in Holstein cows reared under tropical conditions

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the standard multi-trait model and five reduced-rank models fitted to the first principal components and genetic parameter estimates in order to determine the most appropriate method to model the covariance structure of reproductive and productive traits in Brazilian Holstein cows. Individual records of the following traits from 5217 cows were analyzed: 305-day milk yield (MY305), peak yield, milk yield per day of calving interval, days from calving to first estrus, days from calving to last service (CLS), calving interval (CI), and gestation length. Schwarz’s Bayesian information criterion was used to compare the different models. The results indicated that four principal components were necessary to model the genetic (co)variance structure, reducing the number of parameters to be estimated. Analysis of genetic and phenotypic correlations showed that milk production–related traits were strongly correlated with each other (ranging from 0.74 to 0.99), while the correlation of these traits with the reproductive traits was weak (ranging from − 0.14 to 0.27). Heritability estimates for the traits ranged from 0.03 to 0.18. The reproductive traits CLS and CI and the production trait MY305 should be included as selection criteria in dairy cattle breeding programs because they are correlated with the first two principal components, retaining 91% of the genetic variability of the data.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001 for financially supporting this study and Agrindus S.A. for providing the data used in this study.

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, 14884-900, Brazil

    Pablo Dominguez-Castaño

  2. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Fundación Universitaria Agraria de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., 111166, Colombia

    Pablo Dominguez-Castaño & Alejandra Maria Toro Ospina

  3. Instituto de Zootecnia, Sertãozinho, SP, 14160-900, Brazil

    Lenira El Faro

  4. Departamento de Melhoramento e Nutrição Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618-000, Brazil

    Josineudson Augusto II de Vasconcelos Silva

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  1. Pablo Dominguez-Castaño
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  2. Alejandra Maria Toro Ospina
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  3. Lenira El Faro
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  4. Josineudson Augusto II de Vasconcelos Silva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pablo Dominguez-Castaño.

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Animal Care and Use Committee approval was not necessary for this study because the data were obtained from an existing database.

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Dominguez-Castaño, P., Toro Ospina, A.M., El Faro, L. et al. Genetic principal components for reproductive and productive traits in Holstein cows reared under tropical conditions. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02639-w

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