Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.9
2.7
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
The Role of Genetics and Breeding in Livestock Management
share announcement

The Role of Genetics and Breeding in Livestock Management

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 3303

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Natascha Vukasinovic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Zoetis Veterinary Medicine Research and Development (VMRD), Kalamazoo, MI 49001, USA
Interests: dairy cows; genetics; genomics
Dr. Jorge Hidalgo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Interests: genetics; genomics; livestock; statistical genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genetic selection and breeding of farm animals are powerful strategies for increasing the quantity and quality of animal products, as well as animal welfare, efficiency, and sustainability of livestock production. This Special Issue calls for contributions addressing original research and comprehensive reviews related to topics focusing on but not limited to the following: the use of breeding values and genomic predictions in making selection and management decisions, the creation of selection indices and mating plans, the use of predictive analytics and AI to assist farmers in making strategic decisions, and the use of genetic selection as a tool to improve animals’ resilience and adaptability to specific environments and management practices.

Dr. Natascha Vukasinovic
Dr. Jorge Hidalgo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • genetics
  • genomics
  • selection index
  • mating plan
  • AI
  • algorithm
  • management
  • adaptability

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 2446 KiB  
Article
Supervised Machine Learning Techniques for Breeding Value Prediction in Horses: An Example Using Gait Visual Scores
by Fernando Bussiman, Anderson A. C. Alves, Jennifer Richter, Jorge Hidalgo, Renata Veroneze and Tiago Oliveira
Animals 2024, 14(18), 2723; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14182723 - 20 Sep 2024
Viewed by 893
Abstract
Gait scores are widely used in the genetic evaluation of horses. However, the nature of such measurement may limit genetic progress since there is subjectivity in phenotypic information. This study aimed to assess the application of machine learning techniques in the prediction of [...] Read more.
Gait scores are widely used in the genetic evaluation of horses. However, the nature of such measurement may limit genetic progress since there is subjectivity in phenotypic information. This study aimed to assess the application of machine learning techniques in the prediction of breeding values for five visual gait scores in Campolina horses: dissociation, comfort, style, regularity, and development. The dataset contained over 5000 phenotypic records with 107,951 horses (14 generations) in the pedigree. A fixed model was used to estimate least-square solutions for fixed effects and adjusted phenotypes. Variance components and breeding values (EBV) were obtained via a multiple-trait model (MTM). Adjusted phenotypes and fixed effects solutions were used to train machine learning models (using the EBV from MTM as target variable): artificial neural network (ANN), random forest regression (RFR) and support vector regression (SVR). To validate the models, the linear regression method was used. Accuracy was comparable across all models (but it was slightly higher for ANN). The highest bias was observed for ANN, followed by MTM. Dispersion varied according to the trait; it was higher for ANN and the lowest for MTM. Machine learning is a feasible alternative to EBV prediction; however, this method will be slightly biased and over-dispersed for young animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Genetics and Breeding in Livestock Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 937 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Runs of Homozygosity in Aberdeen Angus Cattle
by Vladimir Kolpakov, Alexey Ruchay, Dianna Kosyan and Elena Bukareva
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2153; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152153 - 24 Jul 2024
Viewed by 806
Abstract
A large number of cattle breeds have marked phenotypic differences. They are valuable models for studying genome evolution. ROH analysis can facilitate the discovery of genomic regions that may explain phenotypic differences between breeds affecting traits of economic importance. This paper investigates genome-wide [...] Read more.
A large number of cattle breeds have marked phenotypic differences. They are valuable models for studying genome evolution. ROH analysis can facilitate the discovery of genomic regions that may explain phenotypic differences between breeds affecting traits of economic importance. This paper investigates genome-wide ROH of 189 Aberdeen Angus bulls using the Illumina Bovine GGP HD Beadchip150K to structurally and functionally annotate genes located within or in close ROH of the Aberdeen Angus cattle genome. The method of sequential SNP detection was used to determine the ROH. Based on this parameter, two ROH classes were allocated. The total length of all ROH islands was 11,493 Mb. As a result of studying the genomic architecture of the experimental population of Aberdeen Angus bulls, nine ROH islands and 255 SNPs were identified. Thirteen of these overlapped with regions bearing ‘selection imprints’ previously identified in other breeds of cattle, and five of these regions were identified in other Aberdeen Angus populations. The total length of the ROH islands was 11,493 Mb. The size of individual islands ranged from 0.038 to 1.812 Mb. Structural annotation showed the presence of 87 genes within the identified ROH islets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Genetics and Breeding in Livestock Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2344 KiB  
Article
Genomic Characterization of Local Croatian Sheep Breeds-Effective Population Size, Inbreeding & Signatures of Selection
by Jelena Ramljak, Marija Špehar, Dora Ceranac, Valentino Držaić, Ivan Pocrnić, Dolores Barać, Boro Mioč, Ivan Širić, Zdravko Barać, Ante Ivanković and Ante Kasap
Animals 2024, 14(13), 1928; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14131928 - 29 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1030
Abstract
The Istrian (IS) and the Pag sheep (PS) are local Croatian breeds which provide significant income for the regional economy and have a cultural and traditional importance for the inhabitants. The aim of this study was to estimate some important population specific genetic [...] Read more.
The Istrian (IS) and the Pag sheep (PS) are local Croatian breeds which provide significant income for the regional economy and have a cultural and traditional importance for the inhabitants. The aim of this study was to estimate some important population specific genetic parameters in IS (N = 1293) and PS (N = 2637) based on genome wide SNPs. Estimates of linkage disequilibrium effective population size (Ne) evidenced more genetic variability in PS (Ne = 838) compared to IS (Ne = 197), regardless of historical time (both recent and ancient genetic variability). The discrepancy in the recent genetic variability between these breeds was additionally confirmed by the estimates of genomic inbreeding (FROH), which was estimated to be notably higher in IS (FROH>2 = 0.062) than in PS (FROH>2 = 0.029). The average FROH2–4, FROH4–8, FROH8–16, and FROH>16 were 0.26, 1.65, 2.14, and 3.72 for IS and 0.22, 0.61, 0.75, and 1.58 for PS, thus evidencing a high contribution of recent inbreeding in the overall inbreeding. One ROH island with > 30% of SNP incidence in ROHs was detected in IS (OAR6; 34,253,440–38,238,124 bp) while there was no ROH islands detected in PS. Seven genes (CCSER1, HERC3, LCORL, NAP1L5, PKD2, PYURF, and SPP1) involved in growth, feed intake, milk production, immune responses, and resistance were associated with the found autozygosity. The results of this study represent the first comprehensive insight into genomic variability of these two Croatian local sheep breeds and will serve as a baseline for setting up the most promising strategy of genomic Optimum Contribution Selection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Genetics and Breeding in Livestock Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop