Heritability

Genetic evaluation of Jatropha curcas: an important oilseed for biodiesel production

R. G. Freitas, Missio, R. F., Matos, F. S., Resende, M. D. V., and Dias, L. A. S., “Genetic evaluation of Jatropha curcas: an important oilseed for biodiesel production”, vol. 10, pp. 1490-1498, 2011.

Jatropha curcas, internationally and locally known, respectively, as physic nut and pinhão manso, is a highly promising species for biodiesel production in Brazil and other countries in the tropics. It is rustic, grows in warm regions and is easily cultivated. These characteristics and high-quality oil yields from the seeds have made this plant a priority for biodiesel programs in Brazil. Consequently, this species merits genetic investigations aimed at improving yields. Some studies have detected genetic variability in accessions in Africa and Asia.

Heritabilities and genetic correlations for reproductive traits in an F2 reciprocal cross chicken population

R. P. Savegnago, Buzanskas, M. E., Nunes, B. N., Ramos, S. B., Ledur, M. C., Nones, K., and Munari, D. P., “Heritabilities and genetic correlations for reproductive traits in an F2 reciprocal cross chicken population”, vol. 10, pp. 1337-1344, 2011.

Studies estimating genetic parameters for reproductive traits in chickens can be useful for understanding and improvement of their genetic architecture. A total of 1276 observations of fertility (FERT), hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) and hatchability of total eggs (HTE) were used to estimate the genetic and phenotypic parameters of 467 females from an F2 population generated by reciprocal crossing between a broiler line and a layer line, which were developed through a poultry genetics breeding program, maintained by Embrapa Swine and Poultry, Concordia, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Phenotypic and genetic parameters compared during repeated measures of longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness in Nelore cattle

T. R. Pinheiro, Mercadante, M. E. Z., Albuquerque, L. G., Cyrillo, J. N. S. G., and Branco, R. H., “Phenotypic and genetic parameters compared during repeated measures of longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness in Nelore cattle”, vol. 10, pp. 2944-2952, 2011.

Real-time ultrasound is currently used for in vivo carcass evaluation of beef cattle. We estimated heritability and repeatability coefficients for ultrasound-measured carcass traits in Nelore cattle. We measured longissimus muscle area, backfat thickness, and rump fat thickness in male and female animals ranging in age from 10 to 26 months. The variance components were estimated by single-trait analysis using the derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood method, under an animal model.

Environmental and genetic factors affecting the weaning-estrus interval in sows

C. D. S. Leite, Lui, J. F., Albuquerque, L. G., and Alves, D. N. M., “Environmental and genetic factors affecting the weaning-estrus interval in sows”, vol. 10, pp. 2692-2701, 2011.

We examined the effects of environmental and genetic factors on the weaning-to-estrus interval (WEI) in sows. In order to perform the analyses of the environmental factors, 8104 observations of the 1st to the 6th WEI were carried out, while 6548 observations of the 1st to the 3rd WEI were carried out for the analyses of genetic factors. The environmental model included as fixed effects, herd, genetic line, year and season of birth, as well as the covariates, age of sow at farrowing, litter size at birth and lactation length.

Diversity of pea (Pisum sativum) accessions based on morphological data for sustainable field pea breeding in Argentina

I. Gatti, Espósito, M. A., Almirón, P., Cravero, V. P., and Cointry, E. L., “Diversity of pea (Pisum sativum) accessions based on morphological data for sustainable field pea breeding in Argentina”, vol. 10, pp. 3403-3410, 2011.

We characterized 13 accessions of dry peas of different origins from various growing regions in Argentina, based on three replications of 20 plants cultivated in 2009 and 2010 in a greenhouse, with the objective of selecting those with favorable characteristics for use in breeding programs.

Genetic and environmental factors that influence production and quality of milk of Alpine and Saanen goats

L. F. Brito, Silva, F. G., Melo, A. L. P., Caetano, G. C., Torres, R. A., Rodrigues, M. T., and Menezes, G. R. O., “Genetic and environmental factors that influence production and quality of milk of Alpine and Saanen goats”, vol. 10, pp. 3794-3802, 2011.

Data from 1279 lactations of 783 Alpine and Saanen goats of the herd of our university in Minas Gerais, Brazil, were used to study environmental effects on and to estimate genetic parameters for milk production until 270 days of lactation (MP270) and for production and percentages of fat (PFAT and %FAT), protein (PPROT and %PROT), lactose (PLACT and %LACT), and total dry extract (PEXTR and %EXTR). Environmental effects were estimated by a statistical model that included contemporary group effect, type of kidding, genetic grouping, and kidding order.

Genetic analysis of average annual productivity of Nellore breeding cows (COWPROD)

J. P. Eler, Ferraz, J. B. S., Balieiro, J. C. C., and Mattos, E. C., “Genetic analysis of average annual productivity of Nellore breeding cows (COWPROD)”, vol. 7, pp. 234-242, 2008.

With the aim of estimating the coefficient of heritability of average annual productivity of Nellore cows (COWPROD), a data set from 24,855 animals with known pedigree was analyzed. COWPROD is defined as the amount (in kilograms) of weaned calves produced yearly by one cow during her remaining time in herd ignoring a fixed period of 365 days.

Genetic parameters for pre-weaning traits in Braunvieh cattle

D. C. Cucco, Ferraz, J. B. S., Pinto, L. F. B., Eler, J. P., Balieiro, J. C. C., and Mattos, E. C., “Genetic parameters for pre-weaning traits in Braunvieh cattle”, vol. 8, pp. 291-298, 2009.

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for pre-weaning traits of Braunvieh cattle raised under tropical conditions in Brazil. The weight and weight gain parameters were birth weight (BW, N = 9955), weight at 120 days of age (W120, N = 5901), weaning weight at 205 days (WW, N = 6970), weight gain from birth to 205 days (GAIN205, N = 6013), weight gain from birth to 120 days (GAIN120, N = 5135), and weight gain from 120 to 205 days (GAIN85, N = 4482). Variance components were estimated using the animal model with the MTDFREML software.

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