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. 2024 Nov 26;25(1):1140.
doi: 10.1186/s12864-024-11057-9.

Evaluation of genomic mating approach based on genetic algorithms for long-term selection in Huaxi cattle

Yuanqing Wang #  1 , Bo Zhu #  1   2   3 , Jing Wang  1 , Lupei Zhang  1 , Lingyang Xu  1 , Yan Chen  1 , Zezhao Wang  1 , Huijiang Gao  1 , Junya Li  4 , Xue Gao  5
Affiliations

Evaluation of genomic mating approach based on genetic algorithms for long-term selection in Huaxi cattle

Yuanqing Wang et al. BMC Genomics. .

Abstract

Background: Genomic mating (GM) can effectively control the growth rate of inbreeding in population and achieve long-term sustainable genetic progress. However, the design of GM method and assessment of its effects during long-term selection have not been fully explored in beef cattle breeding.

Results: In this study, we constructed a simulated population based on the real genotypes of Huaxi cattle, where five generations of simulated breeding were carried out using the genomic optimal contribution selection (GOCS), genetic algorithms strategy and three traditional mating strategies. During the breeding process, genetic parameters including average genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV), genetic gain values ( Δ G ), the rate of inbreeding values ( Δ F ) were calculated and compared across generations. Our results showed that the GM method could significantly improve the genetic gain while effectively controlling the inbreeding accumulation within the population. When using the GM method, there was an increase in genetic gain for Huaxi cattle ranging from 1.1% to 25.6% compared to traditional mating strategy, with inbreeding decreasing in the range of 5.8% to 36.2%. Validation using the real dataset from Huaxi cattle further confirmed our findings from the simulated study, offspring populations using the GM strategy exhibited a 7.3% increase in genetic gain compared to positive assortative mating.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the GM method shows potential for achieving sustainable genetic gain and could be utilized during long-term selection in beef cattle breeding.

Keywords: Genetic algorithms; Genetic gain; Genomic mating; Huaxi cattle; Simulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All of the animal experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. All animal procedures were performed in strict accordance with the guidelines proposed by the China Council on Animal Care and the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China. We obtained informed consent from the owner of the Huaxi cattle farm to take sample. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. No euthanasia or anesthesia was used in this study as no invasive procedures or treatments that would require such methods were performed. This study was carried out in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Technical schematic of the simulation study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Genomic selection and mating procedure in validation population of Huaxi cattle
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of genetic gain under different mating strategies
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Comparison of inbreeding coefficient under different mating strategies
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Results of three traits in populations under GM_inb and GM_gain strategies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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