FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
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.
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2021-11-01 PubMed ID: 34718615PubMed Central: PMC8645228DOI: 10.1093/jas/skab316Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • 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

Journal of animal science
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

References

This article includes 60 references
  1. de Andres Cara D, Kaminsky M. Identification of 3 rare electromorphs among Andalusian horses from Spain and genetic diversity of this population.. Comptes Rendus l’Academie des Sci. Ser. 3 Sci. la Vie 299:189–194.
  2. Azcona F, Valera M, Molina A, Trigo P, Peral-García P, Solé M, Demyda-Peyrás S. Impact of reproductive biotechnologies on genetic variability of Argentine Polo horses.. Livest. Sci. 231:103848.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2019.103848google scholar: lookup
  3. Bouman J. The future of Przewalski horses Equus przewalskii in captivity.. Int. Zoo Yearb. 62–68.
  4. Caballero A, Toro MA. Interrelations between effective population size and other pedigree tools for the management of conserved populations.. Genet Res 2000 Jun;75(3):331-43.
    doi: 10.1017/s0016672399004449pubmed: 10893869google scholar: lookup
  5. Calo L L, McDowell R E, VanVleck L D, Miller P D. Genetic aspects of beef production among holstein-friesians pedigree selected for milk production1.. J. Anim. Sci. 37: 676–682.
    doi: 10.2527/jas1973.373676xgoogle scholar: lookup
  6. Cammack K M, Thomas M G, Enns R M. Reproductive traits and their heritabilities in beef cattle.. Prof. Anim. Sci. 25:517–528.
    doi: 10.15232/S1080-7446(15)30753-1google scholar: lookup
  7. Carolino N, Gama LT. Inbreeding depression on beef cattle traits: estimates, linearity of effects and heterogeneity among sire-families.. Genet Sel Evol 2008 Sep-Oct;40(5):511-27.
    doi: 10.1186/1297-9686-40-5-511pmc: PMC2674887pubmed: 18694547google scholar: lookup
  8. Casellas J. On individual-specific prediction of hidden inbreeding depression load.. J Anim Breed Genet 2018 Feb;135(1):37-44.
    doi: 10.1111/jbg.12308pubmed: 29230876google scholar: lookup
  9. Casellas J, Piedrafita J, Caja G, Varona L. Analysis of founder-specific inbreeding depression on birth weight in Ripollesa lambs.. J Anim Sci 2009 Jan;87(1):72-9.
    doi: 10.2527/jas.2008-0897pubmed: 18791149google scholar: lookup
  10. Charlesworth D, Willis JH. The genetics of inbreeding depression.. Nat Rev Genet 2009 Nov;10(11):783-96.
    doi: 10.1038/nrg2664pubmed: 19834483google scholar: lookup
  11. nCore Team . 2020. R. Available from: https://www.r-project.org/.
  12. Dezetter C, Leclerc H, Mattalia S, Barbat A, Boichard D, Ducrocq V. Inbreeding and crossbreeding parameters for production and fertility traits in Holstein, Montbéliarde, and Normande cows.. J Dairy Sci 2015 Jul;98(7):4904-13.
    doi: 10.3168/jds.2014-8386pubmed: 25981069google scholar: lookup
  13. Doekes H P, Curik I, Hagy I, Farkas J, Köver G, Widing J J, Nagy I, Farkas J, Köv G, Winding J J. Revised calculation of Kalinowski’ s ancestral and new inbreeding coefficients.. Diversity 12:1–8.
    doi: 10.3390/d12040155google scholar: lookup
  14. Ewert M, Lüders I, Böröcz J, Uphaus H, Distl O, Sieme H. Determinants of gestation length in Thoroughbred mares on German stud farms.. Anim Reprod Sci 2018 Apr;191:22-33.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2018.02.001pubmed: 29475570google scholar: lookup
  15. Fomin A B, Kalashnikov V V, Nikeforova V G, Tarasova A I. Inbreeding of Russian Trotters and crossbreeding with American Trotters.. Nauchn. Tr. Vses. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Konevodstva 3–10.
  16. Fonesca C G, Carneiro G G, Tortes J R. Formation and genetic structure of a herd of Campolino horses in Minas Gerais.. Arq. Esc. Vet. Univ. Fed. Minas Gerais 29:311–329.
  17. García-Cortés L A, Martínez-Ávila J C, Toro M A. Fine decomposition of the inbreeding and the coancestry coefficients by using the tabular method.. Conserv. Genet. 11:1945–1952.
    doi: 10.1007/s10592-010-0084-xgoogle scholar: lookup
  18. Geurts R. The breed structure of the Friesian horse.. Tijdschr. Diergeneesk. 95:536–540.
  19. Gómez MD, Sánchez MJ, Bartolomé E, Cervantes I, Poyato-Bonilla J, Demyda-Peyrás S, Valera M. Phenotypic and genetic analysis of reproductive traits in horse populations with different breeding purposes.. Animal 2020 Jul;14(7):1351-1361.
    doi: 10.1017/S1751731120000087pubmed: 32026801google scholar: lookup
  20. Gómez M D, Valera M, Molina A, Gutiérrez J P, Goyache F. Assessment of inbreeding depression for body measurements in Spanish Purebred (Andalusian) horses.. Livest. Sci. 122:149–155.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.08.007google scholar: lookup
  21. Gutiérrez JP, Goyache F. A note on ENDOG: a computer program for analysing pedigree information.. J Anim Breed Genet 2005 Jun;122(3):172-6.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0388.2005.00512.xpubmed: 16130468google scholar: lookup
  22. Hedrick PW, Garcia-Dorado A. Understanding Inbreeding Depression, Purging, and Genetic Rescue.. Trends Ecol Evol 2016 Dec;31(12):940-952.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.09.005pubmed: 27743611google scholar: lookup
  23. Hevia M L, Quiles A J, Fuentes F, Gonzalo C. Reproductive performance of thoroughbred horses in Spain.. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 14:89–92.
    doi: 10.1016/S0737-0806(06)81883-6google scholar: lookup
  24. Kalinowski S T, Hedrick P W, Miller P S. Inbreeding depression in the Speke’s gazelle captive breeding program.. Conserv. Biol. 14:1375–1384.
    doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.98209.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  25. Kaminski M, de Andres Cara DF. Electrophoretic markers of Andalusian horses: comparison of Spanish and Lusitanian lineages.. Comp Biochem Physiol B 1986;83(3):575-88.
    doi: 10.1016/0305-0491(86)90299-3pubmed: 3956169google scholar: lookup
  26. Kjöllerström H J, Gama L T, Oom M M. Impact of inbreeding on fitness-related traits in the highly threatened Sorraia horse breed.. Livest. Sci. 180:84–89.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2015.08.001google scholar: lookup
  27. Kownacki M, Jaszczak K. Investigations on the degree of inbreeding and relationship in certain breeds of horse and the effect of inbreeding on the utility characters of horses. III. Effect of inbreeding on some characters of purebred Polish Arabs and Polish Koniks.. Biul. Zakl. Hodowli. Sosw. Zwierz. Pol. Akad. Nauk. 14:161–169.
  28. Krashnikov A S, Parfenov V A, Silova A V. The effectiveness of inbreeding in the breeding of purebred and halfbred Kabarda horse.. Izv. Timiryazevsk. Skoh. Akad. 3:166–180.
  29. Kutsal A. Studies on the degrees of relationship and inbreeding of Turkish purebred Arabian horses.. Lalahan Zoothek. Arast. Enst. Yayin. 1:166.
  30. Lacy RC, Alaks G, Walsh A. HIERARCHICAL ANALYSIS OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN PEROMYSCUS POLIONOTUS.. Evolution 1996 Dec;50(6):2187-2200.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1996.tb03609.xpubmed: 28565659google scholar: lookup
  31. Latter BD. Mutant alleles of small effect are primarily responsible for the loss of fitness with slow inbreeding in Drosophila melanogaster.. Genetics 1998 Mar;148(3):1143-58.
    doi: 10.1093/genetics/148.3.1143pmc: PMC1460039pubmed: 9539431google scholar: lookup
  32. Latter B D H, Robertson A. The effects of inbreeding and artificial selection on reproductive fitness.. Genet. Res. 3:110–138.
    doi: 10.1017/S001667230000313Xgoogle scholar: lookup
  33. Leroy G. Inbreeding depression in livestock species: review and meta-analysis.. Anim Genet 2014 Oct;45(5):618-28.
    doi: 10.1111/age.12178pubmed: 24975026google scholar: lookup
  34. Liu Z, Jaitner J, Reinhardt F, Pasman E, Rensing S, Reents R. Genetic evaluation of fertility traits of dairy cattle using a multiple-trait animal model.. J Dairy Sci 2008 Nov;91(11):4333-43.
    doi: 10.3168/jds.2008-1029pubmed: 18946139google scholar: lookup
  35. Mantovani R, Folla F, Pigozzi G, Tsuruta S, Sartori C. Genetics of Lifetime Reproductive Performance in Italian Heavy Draught Horse Mares.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Jun 23;10(6).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10061085pmc: PMC7341281pubmed: 32586061google scholar: lookup
  36. Martinez-Castillero M, Varona L, Pegolo S, Rossoni A, Cecchinato A. Bayesian inference of the inbreeding load variance for fertility traits in Brown Swiss cattle.. J Dairy Sci 2021 Sep;104(9):10040-10048.
    doi: 10.3168/jds.2020-20087pubmed: 34147228google scholar: lookup
  37. Meuwissen T H E, Luo Z. Computing inbreeding coefficients in large populations.. Genet. Sel. Evol. 24:305–313.
    doi: 10.1186/1297-9686-24-4-305google scholar: lookup
  38. Meyer K, Hammond K, Parnell P F, MacKinnon M J, Sivarajasingam S. Estimates of heritability and repeatability for reproductive traits in Australian beef cattle.. Livest. Prod. Sci. 25:15–30.
    doi: 10.1016/0301-6226(90)90038-8google scholar: lookup
  39. Miglior F, Burnside E B, Hohenboken W D. Heterogeneity among families of Holstein cattle.. 5th World Congr. Genet. Appl. to Livest. Prod. XVIII:479–482.
  40. Mahon G A T, Cunningham E P. Inbreeding and the inheritance of fertility in the Thoroughbred mare.. Livest. Prod. Sci. 9:743–754.
  41. Morris LH, Allen WR. Reproductive efficiency of intensively managed Thoroughbred mares in Newmarket.. Equine Vet J 2002 Jan;34(1):51-60.
    doi: 10.2746/042516402776181222pubmed: 11822372google scholar: lookup
  42. Mucha S, Wolc A, Szwaczkowski T. Bayesian and REML analysis of twinning and fertility in Thoroughbred horses.. Livest. Sci. 144:82–88.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2011.10.015google scholar: lookup
  43. Müller-Unterberg M, Wallmann S, Distl O. Effects of inbreeding and other systematic effects on fertility of Black Forest Draught horses in Germany.. Acta Vet Scand 2017 Oct 18;59(1):70.
    doi: 10.1186/s13028-017-0338-4pmc: PMC5648486pubmed: 29047357google scholar: lookup
  44. Perdomo-González DI, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Molina A, Valera M. Genetic Structure Analysis of the Pura Raza Español Horse Population through Partial Inbreeding Coefficient Estimation.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Aug 6;10(8).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10081360pmc: PMC7459874pubmed: 32781594google scholar: lookup
  45. Phocas F, Bloch C, Chapelle P, Bécherel F, Renand G, Ménissier F. Developing a breeding objective for a French purebred beef cattle selection programme.. Livest. Prod. Sci. 57:49–65.
    doi: 10.1016/S0301-6226(98)00157-2google scholar: lookup
  46. Poyato-Bonilla J, Perdomo-González DI, Sánchez-Guerrero MJ, Varona L, Molina A, Casellas J, Valera M. Genetic inbreeding depression load for morphological traits and defects in the Pura Raza Española horse.. Genet Sel Evol 2020 Oct 20;52(1):62.
    doi: 10.1186/s12711-020-00582-2pmc: PMC7576714pubmed: 33081691google scholar: lookup
  47. Poyato-Bonilla J, Sánchez-Guerrero M J, Santos R D, Valera M. Population study of the Pura Raza Español Horse regarding its coat colour.. Ann. Anim. Sci. 18:723–739.
    doi: 10.2478/aoas-2018-0016google scholar: lookup
  48. Robinson D L. Days to calving in artificially inseminated cattle: alternative models and analyses.. Livest. Sci. 117:34–42.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2007.11.010google scholar: lookup
  49. Rodrigáñez J, Toro M A, Rodriguez M C, Silió L. Effect of founder allele survival and inbreeding depression on litter size in a closed line of large white pigs.. Anim. Sci. 67:573–582.
    doi: 10.1017/S1357729800033014google scholar: lookup
  50. Sabeva I, Apostolov A. Longevity and life reproductive efficiency in Arabian broodmares.. Arch. Zootech. 14:66–74.
  51. Sairanen J, Nivola K, Katila T, Virtala AM, Ojala M. Effects of inbreeding and other genetic components on equine fertility.. Animal 2009 Dec;3(12):1662-72.
    doi: 10.1017/S1751731109990553pubmed: 22443550google scholar: lookup
  52. Shemarykin E I, Vysokolova V S. Fertility of purebred Arab horses.. In: Puti uskoreniya nauch. -tekh, progressa v konevod. Moscow: U.S.S.R.; p. 27–32.
  53. nnStock K F, Quinn Brady K, Christiansen K, Viklund Å, Cervantes I, Ricard A, Ducro B, Janssens S, Viklund A, Cervantes I. Breeding objectives and practices of sport horses studbooks: results of a worldwide inventory.. In: 66th EAAP Annual Meeting 66th Annual Meeting of the EAAP, 31 August–4 September 2015, Warsaw, Poland.
  54. Taveira R Z, Dias M. Genetic and quantitative evaluation of breeding traits in thoroughbred mares.. REDVET. Rev. Electrónica Vet. VIII:1–11.
  55. Todd ET, Ho SYW, Thomson PC, Ang RA, Velie BD, Hamilton NA. Founder-specific inbreeding depression affects racing performance in Thoroughbred horses.. Sci Rep 2018 Apr 18;8(1):6167.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24663-xpmc: PMC5906619pubmed: 29670190google scholar: lookup
  56. Valera M, Molina A, Gutiérrez J P, Gómez J, Goyache F. Pedigree analysis in the Andalusian horse: population structure, genetic variability and influence of the Carthusian strain.. Livest. Prod. Sci. 95:57–66.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livprodsci.2004.12.004google scholar: lookup
  57. VanRaden PM, Tooker ME, Wright JR, Sun C, Hutchison JL. Comparison of single-trait to multi-trait national evaluations for yield, health, and fertility.. J Dairy Sci 2014 Dec;97(12):7952-62.
    doi: 10.3168/jds.2014-8489pubmed: 25282421google scholar: lookup
  58. Varona L, Altarriba J, Moreno C, Martínez-Castillero M, Casellas J. A multivariate analysis with direct additive and inbreeding depression load effects.. Genet Sel Evol 2019 Dec 26;51(1):78.
    doi: 10.1186/s12711-019-0521-3pmc: PMC6933709pubmed: 31878872google scholar: lookup
  59. Vostry L, Milerski M, Schmidova J, Vostra-Vydrova H. Genetic diversity and effect of inbreeding on litter size of the Romanov sheep.. Small Rumin. Res. 168:25–31.
    doi: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2018.09.004google scholar: lookup
  60. Wolc A, Torzynski G, Szwaczkowski T. Genetic effects on reproductive traits in Warmblood horses.. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 89:215–218.
    doi: 10.4141/cjas08067google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 9 times.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,727 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.