Divergent selection for blood serum insulin-like growth factor I concentration in beef cattle: I. Nongenetic effects

Data were obtained from an ongoing experiment involving divergent selection for blood serum IGF-I concentration in purebred Angus cattle. The experiment includes approximately 100 spring-calving (50 high and 50 low line) and 100 fall-calving (50 high and 50 low line) cows. The selection criterion is the mean of IGF-I concentrations measured on each animal at d 28, 42, and 56 of the postweaning performance test. Mean IGF-I values were available for a total of 526 bull and heifer calves. Pooled across years and breeding seasons, high line progeny averaged 21 +/- 6, 17 +/- 6, and 23 +/- 5 ng/mL more IGF-I (P < .01) than low line progeny at d 28, 42, and 56 of the postweaning test. Season effects on IGF-I approached statistical significance only at d 42 and 56 of the postweaning period. Pooled across years and selection lines, spring minus fall differences were 9 +/- 10 (P = .52), -17 +/- 10 (P = .10), -22 +/- 9 (P = .07), and -9 +/- 6 (P = .45) ng/mL for IGF-I concentrations at d 28, 42, and 56 of the postweaning test and for mean IGF-I, respectively. Sex effects on serum IGF-I concentration were highly significant, with greater IGF-I expression in bulls, but were confounded with diet and location. Age of dam effects were not significant. Regressions of IGF-I concentration on on-test age of calf ranged from .46 +/- .13 to 1.08 +/- .20 ng.mL-1.d-1 and were highly significant for all measures of IGF-I.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)