Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Selection for more than one trait
- Relationships between traits
- We find that some traits are related in a positive manner.
Anmerkungen:
- Animals that are good in one trait tend to be good in the other related trait.
- Other traits are related in a negative manner.
- We measure the degree to which traits are related with a correlation coefficient
- This is a phenotypic correlation.
- Genetic Correlations
- In animal breeding we are interested in how breeding values for
different traits are related to one another,
- Usually genetic correlations and phenotypic correlations
are similar in sign and magnitude.
- This is not always the case.
- This means when we select for one trait we also make genetic changes in another.
- However, we often find that same genotypes will perform differently in different environments.
- Known as genotype by environment interaction.
- Before we start breeding, we need to know if one trait is going to negatively correlate another.
- Calculate the correlated
response to selection
- Indirect selection
- In some situations it is difficult to measure the trait we wish to improve.
- For example - prolificacy is only expressed in females.
- It may be useful to select on a second, correlated trait,
which is easy to measure.
- For example, scrotal circumfrance is genetically correlated to prolificacy and can
easily be measured in males.
- Methods of selecting for multiple traits
- Tandem Selection
- Breeder selects for one trait at a time.
- After selecting for one trait for a number of generations -
selection is changed to another trait and so on
- Simple to use method.
- Not efficient if traits are negatively related.
- Independent culling levels
- A culling level is set for each trait that is to be improved.
- Only animals that exceed the level for each trait are selected.
- However, we do not take advantage of all the good genes in the population.
- An animal that exceeds in one trait but not the other
would be culled and so we lose the trait that she
exceeded in.
- Index Selection
- Most efficient method
- Selection upon an index score which combines the measure of
performances of each trait, weighted optimally
- Allows animals that are extremely good in one trait to make a
contribution to the breeding population
- I = A x (trait 1) + B x (trait 2)
Anmerkungen:
- I = index score
A is the index weight for trait 1
B is the index weight for trait 2