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Multi-trait Bayesian analysis and genetic parameter estimates in production characters of Mecheri sheep of India

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Abstract

The present study was carried out to estimate the genetic parameters for direct and maternal influences on Mecheri sheep (Ovis aries) growth traits using Bayesian multi-trait animal model. The genetic parameters were calculated using data from 2825 Mecheri lambs born between 2010 and 2020 that were kept in semi-arid tropical climate. Mecheri sheep body weight (mean ± SE) at various stages, viz. BW, WW, and BW12, were 2.6 ± 0.01, 11.1 ± 0.05, and 20.7 ± 0.13 kg, respectively. The Mecheri sheep gained 71.5 percent of their body weight at the age of 6 months. With the exception of birth weight, the weights of the animals varied considerably (P < 0.01) by the year of birth. The fixed effect of sex significantly (P < 0.01) influenced all the growth traits examined. The direct estimates of heritability (± SD) for BW, WW, BW6, and BW12 was 0.21 ± 0.041, 0.21 ± 0.041, 0.12 ± 0.052, and 0.13 ± 0.053, respectively, and the maternal heritability for BW, WW, BW6, and BW12 was 0.18 ± 0.021, 0.08 ± 0.023, 0.11 ± 0.022, and 0.13 ± 0.033, respectively. Significant variance was indicated by moderately larger direct heritability estimates for BWT and WWT, indicating that there will be more opportunities for selection response during the genetic improvement programme. For the majority of the variables examined, direct heritability values were higher than maternal heritability values. The additive genetic correlation between WW and BW6, BW9, and BW12 was 0.70 ± 0.145, 0.57 ± 0.171, and 0.50 ± 0.194, respectively. The maternal genetic correlations ranged from 0.06 ± 0.152 (BW–BW12) to 0.86 ± 0.046 (BW6–BW9), and the residual correlation varied from 0.18 ± 0.034 (BW–WW) to 0.85 ± 0.013 (BW9–BW12). The BW had a stronger genetic relationship with WW and a weaker relationship with other growth traits. The WW and BW6 showed a favourable genetic relationship, even if the tendency was decreasing in the latter stages of maturation. The BW6 and BW9 demonstrated the strongest positive genetic relationship (0.90 ± 0.052) of all the variables analysed. After examining the heritabilities and genetic correlation between WW and BW6, it was established that selection based on at WW was beneficial, since it manifests early in life and would result in moderate genetic progress through selection.

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The authors declare that the raw data used to elaborating this paper will not be available to the readers of this research paper. However, in case of any interest by some researcher or reader, the authors will share the raw data with them.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Indian Agricultural Research Council (ICAR) for funding and technical guidance.

Funding

This study received financial support from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, New Delhi (a Government of India Project).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

    Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan

  2. Mecheri Sheep Research Station, Pottaneri, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

    Muralidharan Jaganathan

  3. Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Theni, Tamil Nadu, India

    Rajendran Ramanujam

  4. Department of Animal Nutrition, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Bandeswaran Chinnaondi

  5. Livestock Research Station, Palamner, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Satish Kumar Illa

  6. Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, Biometry and Genetics Unit, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey

    Kadir Kizilkaya

  7. Department of Animal Science, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, 30149, USA

    Sunday O. Peters

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  1. Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan
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  2. Muralidharan Jaganathan
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan, Rajendran Ramanujam, and Bandeswaran Chinnaondi; methodology: Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan and Rajendran Ramanujam; formal analysis and investigation: Kadir Kizilkaya, Satish Kumar Illa; writing—original draft preparation: Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan, Muralidharan Jaganathan, and Rajendran Ramanujam; writing—review and editing: Kadir Kizilkaya and Sunday O. Peters; funding acquisition: Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan, Muralidharan Jaganathan, and Bandeswaran Chinnaondi; resources: Thiruvenkadan Aranganoor Kannan, Muralidharan Jaganathan, and Bandeswaran Chinnaondi; supervision: Sunday O. Peters.

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Kannan, T.A., Jaganathan, M., Ramanujam, R. et al. Multi-trait Bayesian analysis and genetic parameter estimates in production characters of Mecheri sheep of India. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 8 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03425-y

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