A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers
Heifers are a fundamental resource on farms, and their importance is reflected in both farm management and economy. Therefore, the selection of heifers to be reared on a farm should be carefully performed to select only the best animals. Genomic selection is available nowadays to evaluate animals in...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| author | Riccardo Moretti Stefania Chessa Stefano Sartore Dominga Soglia Daniele Giaccone Francesca Tiziana Cannizzo Paola Sacchi |
| author_facet | Riccardo Moretti Stefania Chessa Stefano Sartore Dominga Soglia Daniele Giaccone Francesca Tiziana Cannizzo Paola Sacchi |
| author_sort | Riccardo Moretti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heifers are a fundamental resource on farms, and their importance is reflected in both farm management and economy. Therefore, the selection of heifers to be reared on a farm should be carefully performed to select only the best animals. Genomic selection is available nowadays to evaluate animals in a fast and economic way. However, it is mainly used on the sire line and on performance traits. Ten farms were selected based on their 5-year records of average somatic cell count and evenly classified into high (>300,000 cells/mL) and low somatic cell count (<150,000 cells/mL). Genomic indexes (regarding both wellness and productive traits) were evaluated in 157 Italian Holstein heifers reared in the selected ten farms (90 from high-cells farms and 67 from low-cells ones). Linear mixed models were fitted to analyze the effects of the abovementioned genomic indexes on related phenotypes. Results have shown that farms classified into low somatic cell count had an overall better animal genomic pool compared to high somatic cell count ones. Additionally, the results shown in this study highlighted a difference in wellness genomic indexes in animals from farms with either a high or a low average somatic cell count. Applying genomic tools directly to heifer selection could improve economic aspects related to herd turnover. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:56:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ffb505dd91544d1a1e33bda5b59bdfe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:56:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-9ffb505dd91544d1a1e33bda5b59bdfe2023-11-23T14:41:48ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-09-011218237010.3390/ani12182370A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein HeifersRiccardo Moretti0Stefania Chessa1Stefano Sartore2Dominga Soglia3Daniele Giaccone4Francesca Tiziana Cannizzo5Paola Sacchi6Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyRegional Breeder Association of Piedmont (ARAP), 12100 Cuneo, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyHeifers are a fundamental resource on farms, and their importance is reflected in both farm management and economy. Therefore, the selection of heifers to be reared on a farm should be carefully performed to select only the best animals. Genomic selection is available nowadays to evaluate animals in a fast and economic way. However, it is mainly used on the sire line and on performance traits. Ten farms were selected based on their 5-year records of average somatic cell count and evenly classified into high (>300,000 cells/mL) and low somatic cell count (<150,000 cells/mL). Genomic indexes (regarding both wellness and productive traits) were evaluated in 157 Italian Holstein heifers reared in the selected ten farms (90 from high-cells farms and 67 from low-cells ones). Linear mixed models were fitted to analyze the effects of the abovementioned genomic indexes on related phenotypes. Results have shown that farms classified into low somatic cell count had an overall better animal genomic pool compared to high somatic cell count ones. Additionally, the results shown in this study highlighted a difference in wellness genomic indexes in animals from farms with either a high or a low average somatic cell count. Applying genomic tools directly to heifer selection could improve economic aspects related to herd turnover.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/18/2370Holstein Friesian cattlegenomic selectionheifer selectiongenomic index |
| spellingShingle | Riccardo Moretti Stefania Chessa Stefano Sartore Dominga Soglia Daniele Giaccone Francesca Tiziana Cannizzo Paola Sacchi A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers Animals Holstein Friesian cattle genomic selection heifer selection genomic index |
| title | A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers |
| title_full | A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers |
| title_fullStr | A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers |
| title_short | A Practical Application of Genomic Predictions for Mastitis Resistance in Italian Holstein Heifers |
| title_sort | practical application of genomic predictions for mastitis resistance in italian holstein heifers |
| topic | Holstein Friesian cattle genomic selection heifer selection genomic index |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/18/2370 |
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