Short communication: correlations of marker-assisted breeding values with progeny-test breeding values for eight hundred ninety-nine French Holstein bulls.
French artificial insemination companies have been running a marker-assisted selection program since 2001 to determine which young bulls should be progeny tested. A first batch of 899 Holstein sires receiving their first proofs based on progeny daughters has been studied. Estimated breeding values with or without marker information were computed based on information available in April 2004, and correlated to daughter yield deviations available in 2007 for production traits. Marker-assisted estimated breeding values presented greater correlations with daughter yield deviations than those calculated using only pedigree index. The average improvement in correlation was 0.043 and ranged from +0.001 for protein yield to +0.103 for fat percentage. This gain was based on the initial and suboptimal conditions of the program and is expected to increase in the coming years because of several improvements implemented since the start of the marker-assisted selection program.
Guillaume
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F
INRA, UR337 Station de Génétique Quantitative et Appliquée, F-78350 Jouy en Josas, France. Francois.Guillaume@jouy.inra.fr
Fritz
S
S
Boichard
D
D
Druet
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods*; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D005819:Genetic Markers; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010375:Pedigree; D012641:Selection, Genetic
D005819:Genetic Markers