Breed-specific heterosis for growth and carcass traits in 18 U.S. cattle breeds.

ABSTRACT: Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is traditionally defined as the advantage of crossbred progeny relative to the average performance of their purebred parents. This advantage is due to increased heterozygosity in these crosses, which increases phenotypic expression in traits influenced by non-additive gene action. These heterosis effects may vary depending on the breed of animals in the original cross; however, breed-specific estimates are difficult to obtain because of a lack of contemporary comparisons among crossbred and purebred cattle. The Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center was designed to evaluate 18 of the most highly utilized beef breeds in the United States and enable contemporary comparisons among purebreds and their crosses. Therefore, the primary obj

SUBMITTER: Engle BN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11956688 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature