Acceleration of genetic gain in cattle by reduction of generation interval

Abstract

Genomic selection (GS) approaches, in combination with reproductive technologies, are revolutionizing the design and implementation of breeding programs in livestock species, particularly in cattle. GS leverages genomic readouts to provide estimates of breeding value early in the life of animals. However, the capacity of these approaches for improving genetic gain in breeding programs is limited by generation interval, the average age of an animal when replacement progeny are born. Here, we present a cost-effective approach that combines GS with reproductive technologies to reduce generation interval by rapidly producing high genetic merit calves.

Figure 1. Production of high genetic merit calves.

(a) Schematic representation of reproductive processes employed in this study. (b) In vivo development of nuclear transfer embryos using donor cells from FL065 cell line. Embryos were transferred into 16 recipient cows. Embryo development rate was calculated from the number of embryos transferred to recipients. (c) Concordance of genotyping results from the cell line FL065, DNA samples collected from the five live calves produced from FL065, and two other randomly selected cell lines, FL059 and FL070, which were derived from IVF-produced fetuses with poor genetic merit.