Long-Term Evaluation of Breeding Scheme Alternatives for Endangered Honeybee Subspecies.

ABSTRACT: Modern breeding structures are emerging for European honeybee populations. However, while genetic evaluations of honeybees are becoming increasingly well understood, little is known about how selection decisions shape the populations' genetic structures. We performed simulations evaluating 100 different selection schemes, defined by selection rates for dams and sires, in populations of 200, 500, or 1000 colonies per year and considering four different quantitative traits, reflecting different genetic parameters and numbers of influential loci. Focusing on sustainability, we evaluated genetic progress over 100 years and related it to inbreeding developments. While all populations allowed for sustainable breeding with generational inbreeding rates below 1% per generation, optimal selection r

SUBMITTER: Plate M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7412524 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature