Genetic Analysis of Direct and Maternal Effects for Calf Market and Carcass Weights in Japanese Black Cattle |
C. Kitamura, Y. Yasuda, T. Kobayashi, T. Nomura, K. Shimada |
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Abstract |
To evaluated direct and maternal effects on calf market weight (CMW) and carcass weight (CW) in Japanese Black cattle under an animal model, genetic parameters were estimated using 51,320 records of CMW and 11,944 records of CW, respectively. Direct and maternal heritabilities, and direct-maternal genetic correlation were estimated to be 0.22, 0.06 and 0.27 for CMW, and 0.23, 0.12 and -0.40 for CW, respectively. Correlation coefficient between maternal breeding values for CMW and CW was 0.521 for 157 sires appeared in both CMW and CW data sets. These results suggest that the maternal genetic effect on pre-weaning growth carries over to carcass weight. Maternal breeding values for both calf market weight and carcass weight could be used as the indicator traits of maternal ability in Japanese Black cattle. |
Keywords:
Maternal Genetic Effects; Calf Growth; Carcass Weight; Beef Cattle; Japanese Black Cattle |
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