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Journal of animal science2021; 99(12); skab316; doi: 10.1093/jas/skab316

Genetic inbreeding depression load for fertility traits in Pura Raza Española mares.

Abstract: Fertility is a key factor in the economic success of horse farms. However, it has received little attention due to the difficulty of measuring fertility objectively. Since its studbook creation (1912), the Pura Raza Española (PRE) breed has been a closed population and become high in-bred resulting in inbreeding depression (poor phenotypic values). Nevertheless, heterogeneous effects of inbreeding depression have been detected among founders and nonfounders. The aims of this study were (1) to analyze the genetic parameters for reproductive traits in mares of the PRE horse breed and (2) to estimate, for the first time, the inbreeding depression load associated with common ancestors of the breed. A total of 22,799 mares were analyzed. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.05 (interval between first and second foaling) to 0.16 (age at first foaling), whereas inbreeding depression load ratios ranged from 0.06 (parturition efficiency at 6th foaling) to 0.17 (age at first foaling), for a partial inbreeding coefficient of 10%. Although heritability is related to the variability expressed in the population, inbreeding depression load ratios measure the potential variability, whether expressed in the population or not. Most correlations between additive and inbreeding depression load genetic values were significant (P < 0.001) and of low to moderate magnitude. Our results confirm that individual inbreeding depression loads allow us to select horses that have a genetic value resistant to the deleterious effects of inbreeding.
Publication Date: 2021-11-01 PubMed ID: 34718615PubMed Central: PMC8645228DOI: 10.1093/jas/skab316Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research studied the impact of inbreeding depression on fertility traits in the Pura Raza Española horse breed. The results confirmed that selecting horses with individual inbreeding depression loads could be a way to reduce the harmful effects of inbreeding on genetic value.

Research Objective and Methodology

  • This study had two main objectives: to analyze the genetic parameters for reproductive traits in Pura Raza Española (PRE) horse breed mares and to estimate the inbreeding depression load associated with the breed’s common ancestors.
  • For the purpose of the study, the researchers analyzed a total of 22,799 mares.

Results and Findings

  • The researchers found instead that the heritability estimates ranged from 0.05 (the interval between the first and second foaling) to 0.16 (the age at first foaling).
  • Meanwhile, the inbreeding depression load ratios ranged from 0.06 (parturition efficiency at the 6th foaling) to 0.17 (the age at first foaling), assuming a partial inbreeding coefficient of 10%.

Implications of the Study

  • The research suggests that inbreeding depression load ratios measure the potential variability of the population, regardless of whether it has been expressed or not.
  • The correlations drawn between the additive and inbreeding depression load genetic values were significant and of low to moderate magnitude.
  • The study proposed a potential solution to counter the harmful effects of inbreeding by selecting horses that have individual inbreeding depression loads, which indicates a level of resistance to the deleterious impact of inbreeding.

Cite This Article

APA
Perdomo-González DI, Molina A, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Bartolomé E, Varona L, Valera M. (2021). Genetic inbreeding depression load for fertility traits in Pura Raza Española mares. J Anim Sci, 99(12), skab316. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab316

Publication

ISSN: 1525-3163
NlmUniqueID: 8003002
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 99
Issue: 12
PII: skab316

Researcher Affiliations

Perdomo-González, Davinia I
  • Departamento de Agronomía, ETSIA, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
Molina, Antonio
  • Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
Sánchez-Guerrero, María J
  • Departamento de Biología Molecular e Ingeniería Bioquímica, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain.
Bartolomé, Ester
  • Departamento de Agronomía, ETSIA, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
Varona, Luis
  • Departamento de Anatomía Embriología y Genética Animal, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2), Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Valera, Mercedes
  • Departamento de Agronomía, ETSIA, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Fertility / genetics
  • Horses / genetics
  • Inbreeding
  • Inbreeding Depression
  • Phenotype
  • Reproduction

Grant Funding

  • Ministerio de Economu00eda, Industria y Competitividad of the Spanish Government

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Citations

This article has been cited 7 times.
  1. Laseca N, Cánovas Á, Valera M, Id-Lahoucine S, Perdomo-González DI, Fonseca PAS, Demyda-Peyrás S, Molina A. Genomic screening of allelic and genotypic transmission ratio distortion in horse.. PLoS One 2023;18(8):e0289066.
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