Evaluation of type traits in relation to production, and their importance in early selection for milk performance in dairy buffaloes

Xin-Xin Zhang; Zhi-Gao An; Kai-Feng Niu; Chao Chen; Ting-Zhu Ye; Aftab Shaukat; Li-Guo Yang

doi:10.1016/j.animal.2022.100653

Evaluation of type traits in relation to production, and their importance in early selection for milk performance in dairy buffaloes

Animal. 2022 Nov;16(11):100653. doi: 10.1016/j.animal.2022.100653. Epub 2022 Oct 10.

Authors

Xin-Xin Zhang¹, Zhi-Gao An¹, Kai-Feng Niu¹, Chao Chen¹, Ting-Zhu Ye¹, Aftab Shaukat¹, Li-Guo Yang²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; International Joint Research Centre for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (IJRCAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; International Joint Research Centre for Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (IJRCAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China; Hubei Province's Engineering Research Center in Buffalo Breeding and Products, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: yangliguo2006@qq.com.

PMID: 36228548
DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2022.100653

Abstract

Type traits (TTs) can contribute to breeding animals with good economic traits such as production, longevity, fertility, and profitability. Dairy buffaloes are the second largest source of milk supply in the world, and their TTs should be taken into consideration in future dairy buffalo breeding programmes. However, the relationship between TTs and milk production traits in buffalo remains largely unknown. The study aimed to establish an early selection method for buffaloes with desirable milk performance by TTs. Using 1 908 records from 678 buffaloes, the relationship between TTs and milk production traits was analysed and the optimal growth curves of TTs related to milk production traits were constructed. We examined the correlations between 45 TTs (33 body structural, 12 udder and teat morphological traits) and three milk production traits (milk yield (MY), milk fat percentage (MF), and milk protein percentage (MP)). The results showed that the highest correlation was found between MY and udder circumference (r = 0.438), teat length (r = -0.380) or heart girth (r = -0.341). The teat distance and teat circumference exhibited a significant negative correlation with MF and MP. Rump length was the only trait that had a significant positive correlation with milk production traits, suggesting that milk performance could be comprehensively improved by including rump length in the selection procedure. Notably, we found that high milk production traits was obtained from the buffaloes with short teats (<6 cm), small heart girth (<200 cm), large udder circumference (>104 cm), long rump (>39 cm), and small distance between teats. Moreover, an early selection method for buffaloes with excellent milk performance was developed based on the non-linear models. Brody model exhibited the best fitting effect for heart girth and rump length, while the Logistic model displayed the best fitting effect for teat length. Our findings provide theoretical basis for the early selection of buffaloes with desirable milk performance.

Keywords: Buffalo; Growth curve; Milk production traits; Selection; Udder traits.

MeSH terms

Animals
Buffaloes* / genetics
Female
Lactation*
Mammary Glands, Animal / anatomy & histology
Milk / metabolism
Milk Proteins / analysis

Substances

Milk Proteins