Combining large broiler populations into a single genomic evaluation: dealing with genetic divergence.

ABSTRACT: Combining breeding populations that have diverged at some point is a conventional practice, particularly in the poultry industry, where generation intervals are short and genetic evaluations should be frequently available. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of combining large, distantly genetically connected broiler populations into a single genomic evaluation within the single-step GBLUP framework. The pedigree data for broiler lines 1 and 2 consisted of 428,790 and 477,488 animals, being 156,088 and 186,387 genotyped, respectively. Phenotypic data for body weight (kg), carcass yield (%), mortality (1 to 2), and feet health (1 to 7) were collected for 397,974 animals in line 1 and 458,881 in line 2. A 4-trait model was employed for the analyses, and genetic differences between the

SUBMITTER: Tabet JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11641423 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature