Journal of Dairy Science (Mar 2024)
The Resilient Dairy Genome Project—A general overview of methods and objectives related to feed efficiency and methane emissions
- Nienke van Staaveren,
- Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira,
- Kerry Houlahan,
- Tatiane C.S. Chud,
- Gerson A. Oliveira Jr.,
- Dagnachew Hailemariam,
- Gerrit Kistemaker,
- Filippo Miglior,
- Graham Plastow,
- Flavio S. Schenkel,
- Ronaldo Cerri,
- Marc Andre Sirard,
- Paul Stothard,
- Jennie Pryce,
- Adrien Butty,
- Patrick Stratz,
- Emhimad A.E. Abdalla,
- Dierck Segelke,
- Eckhard Stamer,
- Georg Thaller,
- Jan Lassen,
- Coralia Ines V. Manzanilla-Pech,
- Rasmus B. Stephansen,
- Noureddine Charfeddine,
- Aser García-Rodríguez,
- Oscar González-Recio,
- Javier López-Paredes,
- Ransom Baldwin,
- Javier Burchard,
- Kristen L. Parker Gaddis,
- James E. Koltes,
- Francisco Peñagaricano,
- José Eduardo P. Santos,
- Robert J. Tempelman,
- Michael VandeHaar,
- Kent Weigel,
- Heather White,
- Christine F. Baes
Affiliations
- Nienke van Staaveren
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Hinayah Rojas de Oliveira
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON N1K 1E5, Canada
- Kerry Houlahan
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Tatiane C.S. Chud
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Gerson A. Oliveira Jr.
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Dagnachew Hailemariam
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
- Gerrit Kistemaker
- Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON N1K 1E5, Canada
- Filippo Miglior
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Lactanet Canada, Guelph, ON N1K 1E5, Canada
- Graham Plastow
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
- Flavio S. Schenkel
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Ronaldo Cerri
- Applied Animal Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
- Marc Andre Sirard
- Department of Animal Sciences, Laval University, Qubec G1V 0A6, QC, Canada
- Paul Stothard
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
- Jennie Pryce
- School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia; Agriculture Victoria Research, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia
- Adrien Butty
- Qualitas AG, 6300 Zug, Switzerland
- Patrick Stratz
- Qualitas AG, 6300 Zug, Switzerland
- Emhimad A.E. Abdalla
- Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. (vit), Heinrich-Schröder-Weg 1, 27283, Verden, Germany
- Dierck Segelke
- Vereinigte Informationssysteme Tierhaltung w.V. (vit), Heinrich-Schröder-Weg 1, 27283, Verden, Germany; Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098, Kiel, Germany
- Eckhard Stamer
- TiDa Tier und Daten GmbH, 24259 Westensee/Brux, Germany
- Georg Thaller
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24098, Kiel, Germany
- Jan Lassen
- Viking Genetics, Ebeltoftvej 16, 8960 Assentoft, Denmark
- Coralia Ines V. Manzanilla-Pech
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
- Rasmus B. Stephansen
- Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus University, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
- Noureddine Charfeddine
- Spanish Holstein Association (CONAFE), Ctra. Andalucía km 23600 Valdemoro, 28340 Madrid, Spain
- Aser García-Rodríguez
- Department of Animal Production, NEIKER—Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, 01192 Arkaute, Spain
- Oscar González-Recio
- Department of Animal Breeding, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Javier López-Paredes
- Federación Española de Criadores de Limusín, C/Infanta Mercedes, 31, 28020 Madrid, Spain
- Ransom Baldwin
- Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD 20705
- Javier Burchard
- Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, Bowie, MD 20716
- Kristen L. Parker Gaddis
- Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, Bowie, MD 20716
- James E. Koltes
- Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011
- Francisco Peñagaricano
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- José Eduardo P. Santos
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
- Robert J. Tempelman
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
- Michael VandeHaar
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
- Kent Weigel
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Heather White
- Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Christine F. Baes
- Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Genetics, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Corresponding author
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 107,
no. 3
pp. 1510 – 1522
Abstract
ABSTRACT: The Resilient Dairy Genome Project (RDGP) is an international large-scale applied research project that aims to generate genomic tools to breed more resilient dairy cows. In this context, improving feed efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases from dairy is a high priority. The inclusion of traits related to feed efficiency (e.g., dry matter intake [DMI]) or greenhouse gases (e.g., methane emissions [CH4]) relies on available genotypes as well as high quality phenotypes. Currently, 7 countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and United States) contribute with genotypes and phenotypes including DMI and CH4. However, combining data are challenging due to differences in recording protocols, measurement technology, genotyping, and animal management across sources. In this study, we provide an overview of how the RDGP partners address these issues to advance international collaboration to generate genomic tools for resilient dairy. Specifically, we describe the current state of the RDGP database, data collection protocols in each country, and the strategies used for managing the shared data. As of February 2022, the database contains 1,289,593 DMI records from 12,687 cows and 17,403 CH4 records from 3,093 cows and continues to grow as countries upload new data over the coming years. No strong genomic differentiation between the populations was identified in this study, which may be beneficial for eventual across-country genomic predictions. Moreover, our results reinforce the need to account for the heterogeneity in the DMI and CH4 phenotypes in genomic analysis.
