[Methods and applications of animal genomic mating]

Genomic selection (GS) is a powerful tool which can be used to estimate the breeding value of individual animals by using the molecular markers of the animal's entire genome. GS improves the accuracy and intensity of selection, reduces the interval of generation, and realizes the effects of early accuracy selection contributing to a significant evolution in animal breeding. In the past decade, GS was successfully applied in the genetic improvement of dairy animals with improved selection accuracy and genetic gain of breeding animals. However, GS focuses on the genetic gain of target traits while it ignores the genetic relationship between mating pairs such that it ignores long term genetic merits such as an increase in inbreeding coefficient of offspring population, a decrease of genetic diversity and the homozygous presentation of harmful genes. In 2016, genomic mating (GM) was proposed as a sustainable genetic selection method using genomic information of the breeding candidate individuals to optimize selection and mating with resultant control of the growth rate of population inbreeding coefficient and achieving long-term and sustainable genetic progress. Therefore, GM is more suitable for modern animal breeding than GS, especially for the genetic improvement of indigenous species. In this review, we summarize the basic concepts, methods, and applications of GM, and then present examples comparing the effects of six simulated mating schemes. This review serves as a valuable reference for the applications of animal breeding methods.