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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Genetic Parameters and Inbreeding Effect of Morphological Tr...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(5); 791; doi: 10.3390/ani10050791

Genetic Parameters and Inbreeding Effect of Morphological Traits in Sardinian Anglo Arab Horse.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to estimate the heritability and genetic correlations of four biometric measurements and an overall score (OS) in the Sardinian Anglo-Arab horse (SAA); moreover, the effect of inbreeding on these traits was investigated. A dataset with 43,624 horses (27,052 females and 16,572 males) was provided by the Agricultural Research Agency of Sardinia (AGRIS). Cannon bone circumference (BC), chest girth (CG), shoulder length (SL), and withers height (WH) were measured on 6033 SAA horses born in Sardinia between 1967 and 2005; beside the measurements, an overall score (OS) was taken comparing the morphology of each horse to an "ideal type" that is scored out of 100. The mean value is 20.5 cm for BC, 185.9 cm for CG, 67.6 cm for SL, 160.8 cm for WH, and 73.2 for the OS. The heritability estimates ranged from 0.78 to 0.23. The results allow to foresee high genetic progress through the breeding programs. The most affected trait by the inbreeding rate seems to only be the withers height.
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Publication Date: 2020-05-02 PubMed ID: 32370302PubMed Central: PMC7277675DOI: 10.3390/ani10050791Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 study investigates the heritability and genetic correlations of certain physical traits in the Sardinian Anglo-Arab horse (SAA), along with the effect of inbreeding on these traits, concluding that most traits show high heritability, which could allow for significant genetic progress through breeding. The inbreeding seems to primarily affect the horse’s withers height.

Study Design

  • The research involved the study of genetic parameters and effects of inbreeding on some physical attributes of the SAA horse.
  • Data for the study was obtained from 43,624 horses, including 27,052 females and 16,572 males, provided by the Agricultural Research Agency of Sardinia (AGRIS).
  • Which traits being studied were the cannon bone circumference (BC), chest girth (CG), shoulder length (SL), withers height (WH), and an overall score (OS) that compared the horse’s physical attributes to an ideal type.

Data Findings

  • The average measurements recorded for this sample were 20.5 cm for BC, 185.9 cm for CG, 67.6 cm for SL, 160.8 cm for WH, and 73.2 for the OS.
  • The research found that the heritability estimates for these physical traits ranged from 0.78 to 0.23, with higher estimates implying a strong genetic influence on the trait.

Implications of the Study

  • The study’s results suggest that these traits in SAA horses could undergo significant genetic progress through structured breeding programs due to their high heritability.
  • The research also found that the trait most affected by the inbreeding rate was the withers height, implying that inbreeding might negatively impact this trait’s development in SAA horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Giontella A, Sarti FM, Biggio GP, Giovannini S, Cherchi R, Pieramati C, Silvestrelli M. (2020). Genetic Parameters and Inbreeding Effect of Morphological Traits in Sardinian Anglo Arab Horse. Animals (Basel), 10(5), 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10050791

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 5
PII: 791

Researcher Affiliations

Giontella, Andrea
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S.Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Sarti, Francesca Maria
  • Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Biggio, Giovanni Paolo
  • AGRIS, Servizio Ricerca Qualità e Valorizzazione delle Produzioni Equine, piazza D. Borgia, 4, Ozieri, 07014 Sassari, Italy.
Giovannini, Samira
  • Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
Cherchi, Raffaele
  • AGRIS, Servizio Ricerca Qualità e Valorizzazione delle Produzioni Equine, piazza D. Borgia, 4, Ozieri, 07014 Sassari, Italy.
Pieramati, Camillo
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S.Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Silvestrelli, Maurizio
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine-Sportive Horse Research Center, University of Perugia, via S.Costanzo 4, 06123 Perugia, Italy.

Conflict of Interest Statement

We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.

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Citations

This article has been cited 11 times.
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  2. Perdomo-González DI, García de Paredes RLA, Valera M, Bartolomé E, Gómez MD. Morpho-Functional Traits in Pura Raza Menorquina Horses: Genetic Parameters and Relationship with Coat Color Variables. Animals (Basel) 2022 Sep 7;12(18).
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  5. Giontella A, Cardinali I, Pieramati C, Cherchi R, Biggio GP, Achilli A, Silvestrelli M, Lancioni H. A Genetic Window on Sardinian Native Horse Breeds through Uniparental Molecular Systems. Animals (Basel) 2020 Sep 1;10(9).
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  6. Giontella A, Sarti FM, Biggio GP, Giovannini S, Cherchi R, Silvestrelli M, Pieramati C. Elo Method and Race Traits: A New Integrated System for Sport Horse Genetic Evaluation. Animals (Basel) 2020 Jul 6;10(7).
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  7. Giontella A, Sarti FM, Cardinali I, Giovannini S, Cherchi R, Lancioni H, Silvestrelli M, Pieramati C. Genetic Variability and Population Structure in the Sardinian Anglo-Arab Horse. Animals (Basel) 2020 Jun 11;10(6).
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