Long-term selection experiment with Afrikaner cattle 3. Selection applied and response in calf growth traits

Long-term selection experiment with Afrikaner cattle

________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract A selection and line x environment interaction study with grade Afrikaner cattle was established in 1956 at Matopos Research Station, Zimbabwe. Two selection lines of 100 cows each were reared in different management environments. The non-supplemented (NS) line relied on the range throughout the year and w...

Genetic parameters for growth traits of Australian beef cattle from a multibreed selection experiment.

Estimates of covariance components and genetic parameters were obtained for birth, weaning, 200-d, and 400-d weight for a herd of Polled Herefords and a herd of a multibreed synthetics, the so-called Wokalups. Data originated from an experiment in Western Australia selecting for preweaning growth rate. Analyses were carried out by REML fitting an animal model including genetic and permanent env...

Selection response in traits with maternal inheritance.

Maternal inheritance is the non-Mendelian transmission of traits from mothers to their offspring. Despite its presence in virtually all organisms, acting through a variety of mechanisms, the evolutionary consequences of maternal inheritance are not well understood. Here we review and extend a model of the inheritance and evolution of multiple quantitative characters with complex pathways of mat...

Predicting long-term response to selection.

Lande's equation for predicting the response of trait means to a shift in optimal trait values is tested using a stochastic simulation model. The simulated population is finite, and each individual has a finite number of loci. Therefore, selection may cause allele frequencies and distributions to change over time. Since the equation assumes constant genetic parameters, the degree to which such ...

Balancing long-term and short-term selection response