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Estimation of genetic variation in the LH response to a GnRH challenge in pre-pubertal Holstein-Friesian heifers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

M.D. Royal ,
A.O. Darwash ,
A.P.F. Flint ,
R. Webb ,
G.E. Lamming  and
J.A. Woolliams
M.D. Royal
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Animal Physiology, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
A.O. Darwash
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Animal Physiology, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
A.P.F. Flint
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Animal Physiology, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
R. Webb
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Animal Physiology, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
G.E. Lamming
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Animal Physiology, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
J.A. Woolliams
Affiliation:
Roslin Institute (Edinburgh), Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, Scotland
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Extract

Fertility of UK dairy cows is at an all time low (Royal et al., 2000). Genetic improvements through direct selection is minimal since parameters can only be measured in the mature female and generally have low heritability (h2 < 0.1). It may be possible to overcome these genetic limitations with the use of an indirect selection criterion. Whilst commencement of luteal activity might prove a valuable genetic indicator of female fertility (Darwash et al., 1997), a major step forward would be the identification of a highly heritable trait in the male that is measurable in early life and genetically correlated to a measurement of female fertility. The physiological control of reproduction is by the same gonadotrophic hormones in both sexes (Land, 1973), and Haley et al. (1989) reported that the underlying variation in gonadotrophin response to GnRH is controlled by the same genes in both sexes. High heritabilities (0.4–0.55) for the response to GnRH have been reported in ram lambs (Haley et al., 1989) and beef bulls (Mackinnon et al., 1991). The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic variation in a number of parameters associated with the LH response to a GnRH challenge in pre-pubertal Holstein-Friesian (H/F) heifers.

Type
Theatre Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2000 , 2000 , pp. 15
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2000

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References

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