Prediction of Heterosis in White Leghorn Crossbreds using Paternal 60K SNP Genotypes

E.N.Y. Amuzu, H. Bovenhuis, D.J. de Koning, P. Bijma

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference paperAcademic

Abstract

Predicting heterosis for crossbred offspring of individual sires would harness variation between sires from the same pure-line, and can increase the utilization of heterosis in crossbreeding schemes. We aimed to derive the theoretical expectation for heterosis in crossbred offspring of individual sires, and then predict heterosis for these offspring. We used 60K SNP-genotypes from 3427 sires, allele frequencies from 9 pure-lines, and egg number records from 16 crosses between those lines, representing ~210,000 crossbred hens. Results show that it is possible to predict heterosis at the sire level, thereby distinguishing between sires within the same pure-line whose offspring will show higher heterosis. However, variation in predicted heterosis between sires within a line was low in our data; most differences were seen between lines. A potential improvement of the method would be to base predictions on a subset of SNPs with identified effects on heterosis.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2014
EventWCGALP 2014 Conference, Vancouver, Canada -
Duration: 17 Aug 201422 Aug 2014

Conference/symposium

Conference/symposiumWCGALP 2014 Conference, Vancouver, Canada
Period17/08/1422/08/14

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