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Development of international genetic evaluations of dairy cattle for sustainable breeding programs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2011

W.F. Fikse  and
J. Philipsson
W.F. Fikse
Affiliation:
Interbull Centre, Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
J. Philipsson
Affiliation:
Interbull Centre, Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
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Summary

A large proportion of dairy foods consumed by humans are produced using milk from commercial dairy breeds. The result of high selection intensities, narrow breeding objectives and ignoring inbreeding in past decades is that much attention now needs to be given to conserving these commercial breeds to maintain and increase food production and meet future demands. The characteristics of a sustainable breeding program are broad breeding objectives, measures to control inbreeding rates and continuous genetic improvement to keep populations competitive. It is necessary to include traits in the breeding objectives that reduce the cost price of products in addition to traits that increase the output of products. Breeding objectives differ between countries (production environments), and together with genotype-environment interaction for single traits (e.g. milk yield) the implication is that ranking of animals for local breeding goals differs between countries (production environments). Acknowledging this in selection programs leads to larger number of selected animals - at least on a global level, adding to the global diversity in commercial dairy cattle populations. Interbull provides international comparisons of bulls from six dairy breeds for most of the economically important traits, thereby enabling global selection for broad breeding objectives in many countries around the world.

Résumé

Une grande partie des produits laitiers pour la consommation humaine provient de lait de races commerciales. Le résultat d'une sélection intense, d'objectifs d'amélioration limités et ne pas tenir compte des problèmes de consanguinité dans le passé nous portent aujourd'hui à la nécessité d'une majeure attention à la conservation de ces races commerciales tout en conservant et augmentant la production alimentaire pour faire face à la demande dans le futur. Les caractéristiques d'un programme d'amélioration durable sont les objectifs plus larges, les mesures pour contrôler les niveaux de consanguinité et l'amélioration génétique continue pour obtenir que les populations soient compétitives. Il est nécessaire d'inclure certains traits dans les objectifs d'amélioration qui aident à réduire le coût des produits, ainsi que d'autres qui permettent d'augmenter la production de ces même produits. Les objectifs d'amélioration dépendent des pays (p.e. milieu de production) et de l'interaction génotype-milieu pour chacune de ces races (p.e. performances lait), ce qui entraîne que la marge du nombre d'animaux disponible pour les objectifs d'amélioration soit différente d'un pays à l'autre (milieu de production). Prenant en considération ce point nous pouvons augmenter le nombre d'animaux sélectionnés, au moins au niveau mondial, ainsi que la diversité mondiale dans les populations de bovin à lait. Interbull fournis des comparaisons au niveau internationale de taureaux appartenant à six races laitières parmi les plus rentables et importantes du point de vue commercial, ce qui permet une sélection mondiale pour des plus amples objectifs d'amélioration dans beaucoup de pays dans le monde.

Resumen

Una amplia parte de los productos lácteos para consumo humano provienen de leche de razas comerciales. El resultado de una selección intensificada, objetivos de mejora limitados y no tener en cuenta los problemas de consanguinidad en las pasadas décadas hacen que ahora sea necesaria una mayor atención para conservar estas razas comerciales al mismo tiempo que se mantiene e incrementa la producción alimentaria para hacer frente a la demanda futura. Las características de un programa de mejora sostenible son los amplios objetivos de mejora, las medidas para controlar los niveles de consanguinidad y una mejora genética continua para conseguir que las poblaciones sean competitivas. Es necesario incluir algunos rasgos en los objetivos de mejora que reduzcan el costo de los productos, así como otros que incrementen la producción de los mismos. Los objetivos de mejora dependen de los países (p.e. ambiente de producción), y junto con la interacción genotipo-ambiente para cada una de las razas (p.e. rendimiento en leche), hacen que el margen de animales para los objetivos de mejora local difieren de un país a otro (ambientes de producción). El reconocer esto en un programa de selección permite ampliar el número de animales seleccionados, por lo menos a nivel mundial, ampliando la diversidad mundial en las poblaciones de vacuno de leche. Interbull proporciona comparaciones internacionales de toros pertenecientes a seis razas lecheras provenientes de entre las más económicamente importantes, lo que permite una selección mundial para mayores objetivos de mejora en muchos países del mundo.

Keywords

SustainabilityBreeding objectivesInbreedingInternational genetic evaluations
Type
Research Articles
Information
Animal Genetic Resources/Resources génétiques animales/Recursos genéticos animales , Volume 41 , April 2007 , pp. 29 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2007

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