Quantitative Genetics of Livestock Populations

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2025 | Viewed by 728

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Animal Sciences, Institute of Computer Systems and Data Science, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), Liela Str. 2, LV-3001 Jelgava, Latvia
Interests: multivariate statistics; linear models; estimation of genetic parameters; animal sciences
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Guest Editor
Department of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Animal Science Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, R. Žebenkos 12, LT-82317 Baisogala, Lithuania
Interests: farm animals; breeding; small populations; inbreeding; genetics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Quantitative genetic methods investigate the effect of genetic and environmental factors simultaneously, and help improve the efficiency and sustainability of livestock breeding by focusing on traits that are influenced by multiple genes. The aims are to increase the frequency of favourable alleles in the population, which is achieved through animal selection.

Statistical models and breeding values help predict the genetic potential of an animal. By understanding the genetic correlation between different traits, breeders can optimise their selection strategies. Genetic diversity is vital to prevent inbreeding in the population and to a successful breeding plan to obtain healthy and productive animals in the herd or population.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a premier platform for publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed articles that advance the field of quantitative genetics in livestock populations, improving our understanding of quantitative genetics, and implementing scientific findings in practice. We believe that your work, with its novel insights and significant contributions to the field, would be a valuable addition to our publication.

We welcome original research papers that address various aspects of quantitative genetics, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Quantitative genetic approaches to improve productivity and fertility in livestock;
  • The estimation of genetic parameters and the prediction of animal breeding values using different tools and information;
  • Genetic diversity and inbreeding in animal populations;
  • Impact of crossbreeding on quantitative traits in animal populations;
  • Design of breeding programmes and key issues in breeding programme design.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Animals.

Prof. Dr. Liga Paura
Dr. Rūta Šveistiene
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • heritability
  • variance components
  • genetic correlation
  • breeding value estimation
  • pure breeding and crossbreeding
  • inbreeding
  • selection response
  • animal breeding programmes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1658 KB  
Article
Breed-Specific Genetic Recombination Analysis in South African Bonsmara and Nguni Cattle Using Genomic Data
by Nozipho A. Magagula, Bohani Mtileni, Keabetswe T. Ncube, Khulekani S. Khanyile and Avhashoni A. Zwane
Agriculture 2025, 15(17), 1846; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15171846 - 29 Aug 2025
Viewed by 487
Abstract
South African cattle comprise diverse breeds with distinct evolutionary histories, potentially reflecting differences in recombination landscapes. This study assessed genome-wide recombination rates and hotspots in Bonsmara (n = 190) and Nguni (n = 119) cattle using three-generation half-sib pedigrees genotyped with the Illumina [...] Read more.
South African cattle comprise diverse breeds with distinct evolutionary histories, potentially reflecting differences in recombination landscapes. This study assessed genome-wide recombination rates and hotspots in Bonsmara (n = 190) and Nguni (n = 119) cattle using three-generation half-sib pedigrees genotyped with the Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip. Phasing across 29 autosomes was conducted using SHAPEIT v2, and crossover events were inferred using the DuoHMM algorithm. The total number of crossover events detected was higher in Nguni (n = 8982) than in Bonsmara (n = 7462); however, the average recombination rate per 1 Mb window was significantly higher in Bonsmara (0.31) compared to Nguni (0.18) (p < 0.01). This apparent discrepancy reflects differences in genomic distribution and crossover clustering across breeds, rather than overall recombination frequency. A critical limitation of the study is the reliance on half-sib families with small family sizes, which may underestimate recombination rates due to limited meiotic sampling and increased variance in crossover detection. We identified 407 recombination hotspots in Bonsmara and 179 in Nguni, defined as intervals exceeding 2.5 standard deviations above the mean recombination rate. Genes such as PDE1B and FP which are associated with productions traits were located within hotspot-enriched regions. However, functional causality between these genes and local recombination activity remains unverified. Our results provide statistically supported evidence for breed-specific recombination patterns and hotspot distributions, underscoring the importance of incorporating recombination architecture into genetic improvement strategies for South African cattle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quantitative Genetics of Livestock Populations)
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