Developing a Reduced SNP Panel for Low-cost Genotyping in Beef Cattle

The objective of this study was to develop a low-density reduced SNP panel (RP) that could capture most of the predictive ability of a 50K panel for six important traits (birth, weaning and yearling weights; calving ease direct; marbling; and rib eye area) in beef cattle. More than 15,000 animals from six cattle breeds genotyped with 50K were used to select markers highly associated with target traits. Accuracies of direct genomic breeding values (DGV) were calculated for 3 independent validation populations using either 50K or RP. Accuracies of DGV obtained from RP were comparable with those obtained from 50K (\u3e75% predictive ability of 50K) while the size of RP i

Accuracies of Genomic Prediction in Beef Cattle

The objective of this study was to derive and evaluate the accuracies of molecular breeding values (MBV) for economically relevant traits for commercial implementation in several beef cattle breeds. We developed MBV forHereford, Red Angus and Simmental breeds. Accuracies of MBV ranged from 0.18 to 0.45 in Hereford, 0.37 to 0.85 in Red Angus, and from 0.29 to 0.65 in Simmental using within breed genomic predictions. Single breed genomic predictions had no utility when applied to other breeds. However, the accuracies of MBV improved for some breeds when predictions were derived using multi-breed reference populations. These results have now been implemented as routine predictions for breeders of American Hereford, American Red Angus and American Simmental beef cattle. Similar findings will soon be extended to other breeds

Development and implementation of genomic predictions in beef cattle

peer-reviewedBeef production represents a considerable contribution to local and global economies and food security but also the environmental footprint of agricultural production systems. The development of accurate genomic evaluations in beef populations are more difficult than in dairy populations for reasons including the presence of multiple breeds, poor extent of phenotyping, lack of artificial insemination, and beef systems being generally a lower-margin business of poorer adopters of technology. Several options exist to minimize or overcome the limitations of developing accurate genomic evaluations for beef cattle

Genetic Difference of Five Beef Cattle Breeds Characterized by Genome-wide SNPs and Haplotypes

The objective of this study was to characterize breed differences using SNP available on commonly-used marker panels compared to using genome-wide SNP haplotypes derived from the same markers. The percentage of breed-specific segregating haplotypes was much higher than that of SNPs. Principal components of haplotypes characterized breed difference better than SNP genotypes. Results indicate that haplotypes characterize breed differences more adequately than SNP genotypes and hence offer promise to improve genomic prediction and fine mapping in multi breed population