Reproductive technologies combine well with genomic selection in dairy breeding programs

Area of Science:

• Animal Breeding and Genetics
• Quantitative Genetics
• Dairy Cattle Production

Background:

• Genomic selection enhances genetic gain by increasing accuracy.
• Reproductive technologies (RT) offer opportunities to accelerate genetic progress.
• Integrating these strategies requires careful evaluation of their interaction and economic viability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the synergistic effects of genomic selection in females and RT on annual monetary genetic gain (AMGG).
• To assess the impact of genomic prediction reliability on AMGG and inbreeding.
• To evaluate the profitability and optimal design of RT programs in dairy cattle.

Main Methods:

• Factorial design analyzing genomic selection, RT, and genomic prediction reliability.
• Stochastic simulation to explore various RT strategies (donor numbers, calves per donor, donor age, sire numbers).
• Deterministic simulation to evaluate the economic profitability of RT at different cost levels.

Main Results:

• Combining genomic selection of females with RT significantly increases AMGG compared to schemes without genomic selection in females.
• High genomic prediction reliability minimizes the rate of inbreeding (ΔF).
• Favorable interactions between selection intensity, accuracy, and generation interval enhance AMGG via the bull dam donor path.
• Increasing donor program size and offspring per donor increases AMGG but also ΔF, which can be mitigated by increasing sire numbers.

Conclusions:

• The integration of genomic selection in females and RT is a powerful strategy for maximizing AMGG in dairy cattle.
• RT investments are generally profitable, even at higher costs, supporting their adoption in breeding programs.
• Careful management of sire numbers is crucial to balance increased genetic gain with controlled inbreeding.