Genetic and phenotypic covariances for days open and lactation curve characteristics in Holstein cows from northern Mexico

Abstract

THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ESTIMATE GENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC (CO)VARIANCES FOR LACTATION CURVE TRAITS AND FOR DAYS OPEN IN HOLSTEIN COWS. DATA INCLUDED 1 579 LACTATIONS FROM 766 COWS, DAUGHTERS OF 126 SIRES IN A DAIRY HERD IN NORTHERN MEXICO. THE STUDIED TRAITS WITHIN LACTATION WERE DAYS OPEN (DO), PEAK MILK PRODUCTION (PMAX), DAYS TO PEAK MILK PRODUCTION (DPMAX), 305-DAY MILK PRODUCTION (MP305), LACTATION PERSISTENCY (BASED ON WOOD EQUATION) (PERSW), LACTATION PERSISTENCY EXPRESSED AS THE NATURAL LOGARITHM OF THE WOOD EQUATION PERSISTENCY (LNPERSW), AND LACTATION PERSISTENCY MEASURED AS (PRODUCTION AT DAY 305/PMP) × 100 (PERS). COVARIANCE COMPONENTS WERE OBTAINED BY SINGLE TRAIT AND BIVARIATE MIXED LINEAR MODELS USING RESTRICTED MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD. IN GENERAL, HERITABILITIES ESTIMATED USING THE REPEATABILITY MODEL YIELDED LOWER VALUES THAN THOSE OBTAINED BASED ON WITHIN LACTATION ANALYSIS. AVERAGE HERITABILITIES ESTIMATED WITH SINGLE TRAIT MODELS WITHIN LACTATION WERE 0.13 ± 0.09, 0.28 ± 0.09, 0.28 ± 0.09, 0.17 ± 0.10 AND 0.22 ± 0.10, FOR DO, MP305, PMAX, DPMAX, AND LNPERSW, RESPECTIVELY. GENETIC CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MP305 AND DO (0.66±0.57) AND BETWEEN PMAX AND DO (0.55 ± 0.71) WERE UNFAVORABLE FOR FIRST LACTATION COWS, BUT WITH LARGE STANDARD ERRORS. RESULTS CONFIRMED A LOW HERITABILITY FOR DO, BUT WITH ESTIMATES POSSIBLY LARGER IN YOUNGER COWS. GENETIC CORRELATION BETWEEN MP305 AND PMAX WAS 0.89 ± 0.09, AND LNPERSW AND DPMAX WAS 0.98 ± 0.21 FOR THE THIRD LACTATION, INDICATING THAT DPMAX IS A GOOD MEASURE OF PERSISTENCY. NO EVIDENCE FOR GENETIC CORRELATION BETWEEN MP305 AND LNPERSW WAS FOUND.