Accounting for Genetic Differences Among Unknown Parents in : A Case Study From the Italian Mediterranean Buffalo.

The use of genetic evaluations in the Water Buffalo by means of a Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) animal model has been increased over the last two-decades across several countries. However, natural mating is still a common reproductive strategy that can increase the proportion of missing pedigree information. The inclusion of genetic groups in variance component (VC) and breeding value (EBV) estimation is a possible solution.