Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance
Research has shown that enhancing finishing performance in beef cows is feasible; however, any adverse impact of selection strategies for finishing performance on the performance of the maternal herd should be taken into account. The aim of this research was to examine the inheritance of growth, ult...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/1/25 |
| _version_ | 1797499722971217920 |
|---|---|
| author | Franziska Weik Rebecca E. Hickson Stephen T. Morris Dorian J. Garrick Jason A. Archer |
| author_facet | Franziska Weik Rebecca E. Hickson Stephen T. Morris Dorian J. Garrick Jason A. Archer |
| author_sort | Franziska Weik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research has shown that enhancing finishing performance in beef cows is feasible; however, any adverse impact of selection strategies for finishing performance on the performance of the maternal herd should be taken into account. The aim of this research was to examine the inheritance of growth, ultrasound and carcass traits in finishing beef cattle and to evaluate their correlations with maternal performance traits. Data were collected from a nationwide progeny test on commercial New Zealand hill country farms comprising a total of 4473 beef cows and their progeny. Most finishing traits were moderately to highly heritable (0.28–0.58) with the exception of meat or fat colour and ossification (0.00–0.12). Ultrasound scan traits had high genetic correlations with corresponding traits measured at slaughter (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.53–0.95) and may be used as a selection tool for improved genetic merit of the beef carcass. Fat content determined via ultrasound scanning in the live animal or at slaughter in finishing cattle is positively genetically correlated with rebreeding performance (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.22–0.39) in female herd replacements and negatively correlated with mature cow live weight (r<sub>g</sub> = −0.40 to −0.19). Low-magnitude associations were observed between the genetic merit for carcass fat traits with body condition in mature cows. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:51:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a72f55606f384b6dae97f2a1dbdbe715 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:51:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-a72f55606f384b6dae97f2a1dbdbe7152023-11-23T11:04:38ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-12-011212510.3390/ani12010025Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal PerformanceFranziska Weik0Rebecca E. Hickson1Stephen T. Morris2Dorian J. Garrick3Jason A. Archer4School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandSchool of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandSchool of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandSchool of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442, New ZealandBeef + Lamb New Zealand Genetics, P.O. Box 5501, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandResearch has shown that enhancing finishing performance in beef cows is feasible; however, any adverse impact of selection strategies for finishing performance on the performance of the maternal herd should be taken into account. The aim of this research was to examine the inheritance of growth, ultrasound and carcass traits in finishing beef cattle and to evaluate their correlations with maternal performance traits. Data were collected from a nationwide progeny test on commercial New Zealand hill country farms comprising a total of 4473 beef cows and their progeny. Most finishing traits were moderately to highly heritable (0.28–0.58) with the exception of meat or fat colour and ossification (0.00–0.12). Ultrasound scan traits had high genetic correlations with corresponding traits measured at slaughter (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.53–0.95) and may be used as a selection tool for improved genetic merit of the beef carcass. Fat content determined via ultrasound scanning in the live animal or at slaughter in finishing cattle is positively genetically correlated with rebreeding performance (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.22–0.39) in female herd replacements and negatively correlated with mature cow live weight (r<sub>g</sub> = −0.40 to −0.19). Low-magnitude associations were observed between the genetic merit for carcass fat traits with body condition in mature cows.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/1/25beef cattleheritabilitygenetic correlationsmaternal performancegrowthultrasound |
| spellingShingle | Franziska Weik Rebecca E. Hickson Stephen T. Morris Dorian J. Garrick Jason A. Archer Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance Animals beef cattle heritability genetic correlations maternal performance growth ultrasound |
| title | Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance |
| title_full | Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance |
| title_fullStr | Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance |
| title_short | Genetic Parameters for Growth, Ultrasound and Carcass Traits in New Zealand Beef Cattle and Their Correlations with Maternal Performance |
| title_sort | genetic parameters for growth ultrasound and carcass traits in new zealand beef cattle and their correlations with maternal performance |
| topic | beef cattle heritability genetic correlations maternal performance growth ultrasound |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/1/25 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT franziskaweik geneticparametersforgrowthultrasoundandcarcasstraitsinnewzealandbeefcattleandtheircorrelationswithmaternalperformance AT rebeccaehickson geneticparametersforgrowthultrasoundandcarcasstraitsinnewzealandbeefcattleandtheircorrelationswithmaternalperformance AT stephentmorris geneticparametersforgrowthultrasoundandcarcasstraitsinnewzealandbeefcattleandtheircorrelationswithmaternalperformance AT dorianjgarrick geneticparametersforgrowthultrasoundandcarcasstraitsinnewzealandbeefcattleandtheircorrelationswithmaternalperformance AT jasonaarcher geneticparametersforgrowthultrasoundandcarcasstraitsinnewzealandbeefcattleandtheircorrelationswithmaternalperformance |