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Physiological responses to selection for carcass lean content in a terminal sire breed of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

N.D. Cameron
N.D. Cameron*
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research, Edinburgh Research Station, Roslin, EH25 9PS
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Extract

Sheep breeding programmes for genetic improvement in carcass composition of terminal sires measure livewelght and ultrasonic backfat and muscle depths for inclusion in a selection index to predict genetic merit. Physiological traits which were genetically correlated with carcass traits could be incorporated into the selection index to increase the accuracy of selection and the rate of genetic improvement.

This study examined differences in physiological traits between lines selected for high or low carcass lean content. The measured physiological traits were chosen according to their role in protein and lipid metabolism : b-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and glucose (GLUC) : indicators of energy balance; triglyceride (TRIG) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) : intermediaries of lipid metabolism; UREA and creatinine (CREA) : indicators of nitrogen / amino acid metabolism and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1): an Indicator of growth hormone status.

Type
Sheep and cattle breeding
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1991 , March 1991 , pp. 25
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1991

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References

Cameron, N.D. and Bracken, J. 1990. Selection for carcass lean content in a terminal sire breed of sheep. Animal Production (submitted).Google Scholar
Tilakaratne, N., Alliston, J.C, Carr, W.R., Land, R.B. and Osmond, T.J. 1980. Physiological attributes as possible selection criteria for milk production. Animal Production 30: 327–340.Google Scholar