Genomic Selection Improves Heat Tolerance in Dairy Cattle.
Dairy products are a key source of valuable proteins and fats for many millions of people worldwide. Dairy cattle are highly susceptible to heat-stress induced decline in milk production, and as the frequency and duration of heat-stress events increases, the long term security of nutrition from dairy products is threatened. Identification of dairy cattle more tolerant of heat stress conditions would be an important progression towards breeding better adapted dairy herds to future climates. Breeding for heat tolerance could be accelerated with genomic selection, using genome wide DNA markers that predict tolerance to heat stress. Here we demonstrate the value of genomic predictions for heat tolerance in cohorts of Holstein cows predicted to be heat tolerant and heat susceptible using controlled-climate chambers simulating a moderate heatwave event. Not only was the heat challenge stimulated decline in milk production less in cows genomically predicted to be heat-tolerant, physiological indicators such as rectal and intra-vaginal temperatures had reduced increases over the 4 day heat challenge. This demonstrates that genomic selection for heat tolerance in dairy cattle is a step towards securing a valuable source of nutrition and improving animal welfare facing a future with predicted increases in heat stress events.
Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Victoria 3821, Australia.
J B
JB
Garner
Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Victoria 3821, Australia.
M L
ML
Douglas
Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Victoria 3821, Australia.
S R O
SR
Williams
Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Victoria 3821, Australia.
W J
WJ
Wales
Agriculture Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, 1301 Hazeldean Road, Ellinbank, Victoria 3821, Australia.
L C
LC
Marett
BioSciences Research, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, AgriBio, 5 Ring Road, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.
T T T
TT
Nguyen
BioSciences Research, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, AgriBio, 5 Ring Road, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.
C M
CM
Reich
BioSciences Research, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, AgriBio, 5 Ring Road, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.|Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, Centre for Animal Science, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.
B J
BJ
Hayes
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