Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data
ABSTRACT: Heat stress is a prominent issue in livestock production, even for intensively housed dairy herds in Canada. Production records and meteorological data can be combined to assess heat tolerance in dairy cattle. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of genetic evaluat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203022300437X |
| _version_ | 1797676384631390208 |
|---|---|
| author | Paige L. Rockett I.L. Campos C.F. Baes D. Tulpan F. Miglior F.S. Schenkel |
| author_facet | Paige L. Rockett I.L. Campos C.F. Baes D. Tulpan F. Miglior F.S. Schenkel |
| author_sort | Paige L. Rockett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Heat stress is a prominent issue in livestock production, even for intensively housed dairy herds in Canada. Production records and meteorological data can be combined to assess heat tolerance in dairy cattle. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of genetic evaluation for heat tolerance in Canadian dairy cattle. The 2 specific objectives were (1) to estimate the genetic parameters for milk, fat, and protein yield for Holsteins while accounting for high environmental heat loads, and (2) to determine if a genotype-by-environment interaction causes reranking of top-ranked sires between environments with low and high heat loads. A repeatability test-day model with a heat stress function was used to evaluate the genetic merit for milk, fat, and protein yield under heat stress and at thermal comfort for first parity in 5 regions in Canada. The heat stress function for each trait was defined using a specific temperature-humidity index (THI) threshold. The purpose of this function was to quantify the level of heat stress that was experienced by the dairy cattle. The estimated genetic correlation between the general additive genetic effect and the additive effect on the slope of the change in the trait phenotype for milk, fat, and protein yield ranged from −0.16 to −0.30, −0.20 to −0.44, and −0.28 to −0.42, respectively. These negative correlations imply that there is an antagonistic relationship between sensitivity to heat stress and level of production. The heritabilities for milk, fat, and protein yield at 15 units above the THI threshold ranged from 0.15 to 0.27, 0.11 to 0.15, and 0.11 to 0.15, respectively. Finally, the rank correlations between the breeding values from a repeatability model with no heat stress effect and the breeding values accounting for heat stress for the 100 top-ranked bulls indicated possible interaction between milk production traits and THI, resulting in substantial reranking of the top-ranked sires in Canada, especially for milk yield. This is the first study to implement weather data from the NASA POWER database in a genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in dairy cattle. The NASA POWER database is a novel alternative meteorological resource that is potentially more reliable and consistent and with broader coverage than weather station data increasing the number of animals that could be included in a heat stress evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:28:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd9ea14f01ae43ad8b3bdf246168be75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:28:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd9ea14f01ae43ad8b3bdf246168be752023-09-24T05:13:41ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022023-10-011061069957007Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather dataPaige L. Rockett0I.L. Campos1C.F. Baes2D. Tulpan3F. Miglior4F.S. Schenkel5Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1; Corresponding authorsCentre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1; Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland 3012Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1; Corresponding authorsABSTRACT: Heat stress is a prominent issue in livestock production, even for intensively housed dairy herds in Canada. Production records and meteorological data can be combined to assess heat tolerance in dairy cattle. The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of genetic evaluation for heat tolerance in Canadian dairy cattle. The 2 specific objectives were (1) to estimate the genetic parameters for milk, fat, and protein yield for Holsteins while accounting for high environmental heat loads, and (2) to determine if a genotype-by-environment interaction causes reranking of top-ranked sires between environments with low and high heat loads. A repeatability test-day model with a heat stress function was used to evaluate the genetic merit for milk, fat, and protein yield under heat stress and at thermal comfort for first parity in 5 regions in Canada. The heat stress function for each trait was defined using a specific temperature-humidity index (THI) threshold. The purpose of this function was to quantify the level of heat stress that was experienced by the dairy cattle. The estimated genetic correlation between the general additive genetic effect and the additive effect on the slope of the change in the trait phenotype for milk, fat, and protein yield ranged from −0.16 to −0.30, −0.20 to −0.44, and −0.28 to −0.42, respectively. These negative correlations imply that there is an antagonistic relationship between sensitivity to heat stress and level of production. The heritabilities for milk, fat, and protein yield at 15 units above the THI threshold ranged from 0.15 to 0.27, 0.11 to 0.15, and 0.11 to 0.15, respectively. Finally, the rank correlations between the breeding values from a repeatability model with no heat stress effect and the breeding values accounting for heat stress for the 100 top-ranked bulls indicated possible interaction between milk production traits and THI, resulting in substantial reranking of the top-ranked sires in Canada, especially for milk yield. This is the first study to implement weather data from the NASA POWER database in a genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in dairy cattle. The NASA POWER database is a novel alternative meteorological resource that is potentially more reliable and consistent and with broader coverage than weather station data increasing the number of animals that could be included in a heat stress evaluation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203022300437Xtemperature-humidity indexheat tolerancegenetic evaluationNASA POWER |
| spellingShingle | Paige L. Rockett I.L. Campos C.F. Baes D. Tulpan F. Miglior F.S. Schenkel Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data Journal of Dairy Science temperature-humidity index heat tolerance genetic evaluation NASA POWER |
| title | Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data |
| title_full | Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data |
| title_fullStr | Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data |
| title_short | Genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in Holsteins using test-day production records and NASA POWER weather data |
| title_sort | genetic evaluation of heat tolerance in holsteins using test day production records and nasa power weather data |
| topic | temperature-humidity index heat tolerance genetic evaluation NASA POWER |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203022300437X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT paigelrockett geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata AT ilcampos geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata AT cfbaes geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata AT dtulpan geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata AT fmiglior geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata AT fsschenkel geneticevaluationofheattoleranceinholsteinsusingtestdayproductionrecordsandnasapowerweatherdata |