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Optimisation of selection decisions in the UK Meatlinc breed of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

S. Avendaño ,
B. Villanueva  and
J.A. Woolliams
S. Avendaño
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, Scotland, UK
B. Villanueva
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, Scotland, UK
J.A. Woolliams
Affiliation:
Roslin Institute, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9PS, Scotland, UK
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Extract

Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) estimates of breeding values (EBVs) have been routinely used for selection decisions in the UK Meatlinc (ML) population since the early nineteen nineties. This has enabled accurate selection and has allowed higher genetic gains for traits of economic relevance than in other terminal sheep breeds (MLC, 1999). However, concerns regarding increased rates of inbreeding (ΔF) by selecting exclusively on BLUP-EBVs have arisen in this small population. Dynamic rules to maximise genetic merit while ΔF is constrained to a pre-defined level using BLUP EBVs are currently available (e.g. Grundy et al 1998). They found higher gains than standard BLUP selection at the same ΔF by using these rules. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of these procedures for optimising selection decisions under constrained inbreeding in the UK ML sheep population.

Type
Poster Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2002 , 2002 , pp. 194
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2002

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References

MLC, 1999. “Sheep Year Book 1999”. Meat and Livestock Comission, Milton Keynes, UK Google Scholar
Grundy, B., Villanueva, B., and Woolliams, J.A. 1998. Dynamic selection procedures for constrained inbreeding and their consequences for pedigree development. Genet. Res. Camb. 72: 159–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar