Meat tenderness in Australian lamb: Data editing, environmental variation and their effects in genetic parameter estimation.

Breeding for meat quality increases the value of lambs and requires reliable genetic parameters to achieve balanced genetic progress. Meat tenderness, accomplished by selecting for lower shear force, is an important eating quality trait because of its relationship with consumer satisfaction. Factors influencing shear force, include the pH and temperature decline post-mortem which can contribute towards higher shear force values and increased variation across contemporary groups.

Combined genomic evaluation of Merino and Dohne Merino Australian sheep populations.

Background: The Dohne Merino sheep was introduced to Australia from South Africa in the 1990s. It was primarily used in crosses with the Merino breed sheep to improve on attributes such as reproduction and carcass composition. Since then, this breed has continued to expand in Australia but the number of genotyped and phenotyped purebred individuals remains low, calling into question the accuracy of genomic selection.

Genotyping both live and dead animals to improve post-weaning survival of pigs in breeding programs.

Background: In this study, we tested whether genotyping both live and dead animals (GSD) realises more genetic gain for post-weaning survival (PWS) in pigs compared to genotyping only live animals (GOS).

Methods: Stochastic simulation was used to estimate the rate of genetic gain realised by GSD and GOS at a 0.01 rate of pedigree-based inbreeding in three breeding schemes, which differed in PWS (95%, 90% and 50%) and litter size (6 and 10).

Changing Australia's trading language has enhanced the implementation of objective carcase measurement technologies.

In 2016 an Australian project, the Advanced Livestock Measurement Technologies project (ALMTech), was initiated to accelerate the development and implementation of technologies that measure lean meat yield and eating quality. This led to the commercial testing, and implementation of a range of new technologies in the lamb, beef, and pork industries. For measuring lean meat yield %, these technologies included dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, hand-held microwave systems, and 3-D imaging systems.

Pollen products collected from honey bee hives experiencing minor stress have altered fungal communities and reduced antimicrobial properties.

Fungi are increasingly recognized to play diverse roles within honey bee hives, acting as pathogens, mutualists, and commensals. Pollen products, essential for hive nutrition, host significant fungal communities with potential protective and nutritional benefits. In this study, we profile the fungal communities and antifungal properties of three pollen products from healthy and stressed hives: fresh pollen collected by forager bees from local plants; stored pollen packed into the comb inside the hive; and bee bread, which is stored pollen following anaerobic fermentation used for bee and larval nutrition.

An interactive, online decision aid assessing patient goals and preferences for treatment of aortic stenosis to support physician-led shared decision-making: Early feasibility pilot study.

Background: Guidelines recommend shared decision making when choosing treatment for severe aortic stenosis but implementation has lagged. We assessed the feasibility and impact of a novel decision aid for severe aortic stenosis at point-of-care.

Methods: This prospective multi-site pilot cohort study included adults with severe aortic stenosis and their clinicians.

Combined purebred and crossbred genetic evaluation of Columbia, Suffolk, and crossbred lamb birth and weaning weights: systematic effects and heterogeneous variances.

Despite the benefits of crossbreeding on animal performance, genetic evaluation of sheep in the U.S. does not directly incorporate records from crossbred lambs.

Across-country genetic and genomic analyses of foot score traits in American and Australian Angus cattle.

Background: Hoof structure and health are essential for the welfare and productivity of beef cattle. Therefore, we assessed the genetic and genomic background of foot score traits in American (US) and Australian (AU) Angus cattle and investigated the feasibility of performing genomic evaluations combining data for foot score traits recorded in US and AU Angus cattle. The traits evaluated were foot angle (FA) and claw set (CS).

Methane, growth and carcase considerations when breeding for more efficient Merino sheep production.

Feed intake, methane and feed efficiency have important genetic correlations with growth, carcase weights and mature size that need to be considered when breeding for production whilst reducing feed requirements and methane production in the Australian sheep industry. Live weight, growth, fat and muscle have significant antagonistic relationships with feed intake, which may make simultaneous selection for efficiency traits and, growth and meat quality slower. For example, selecting animals that grow faster is known to reduce meat-eating quality.

Review: Improving pig survival with a focus on birthweight: a practical breeding perspective.

Survival of growing pigs through to slaughter age is not only a key driver of profitability but also has implications for animal welfare. Changing preweaning mortality by over 3% gives a similar change in profit per pig as changing postweaning mortality by 1%. There is significant scope to improve both traits through management and breeding to improve survival.

QTLs and Candidate Genes Associated with Semen Traits in Merino Sheep.

Ram semen traits play a significant role in conception outcomes, which in turn may influence reproductive efficiency and the overall productivity and profitability of sheep enterprises. Since hundreds of ewes may be inseminated from a single ejaculate, it is important to evaluate semen quality prior to use in sheep breeding programs. Given that semen traits have been found to be heritable, genetic variation likely contributes to the variability observed in these traits.

Low Levels of Hive Stress Are Associated with Decreased Honey Activity and Changes to the Gut Microbiome of Resident Honey Bees.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) face increasing threats to their health, particularly from the degradation of floral resources and chronic pesticide exposure. The properties of honey and the bee gut microbiome are known to both affect and be affected by bee health. Using samples from healthy hives and hives showing signs of stress from a single apiary with access to the same floral resources, we profiled the antimicrobial activity and chemical properties of honey and determined the bacterial and fungal microbiome of the bee gut and the hive environment.

Runs of homozygosity and cross-generational inbreeding of Iranian fat-tailed sheep.

The Lori-Bakhtiari fat-tailed sheep is one of the most important heavyweight native breeds of Iran. The breed is robust and well-adapted to semi-arid regions and an important resource for smallholder farms. An established nucleus-based breeding scheme is used to improve their production traits but there is an indication of inbreeding depression and loss of genetic diversity due to selection.

Reducing computational demands of restricted maximum likelihood estimation with genomic relationship matrices.

Restricted maximum likelihood estimation of genetic parameters accounting for genomic relationships has been reported to impose computational burdens which typically are many times higher than those of corresponding analyses considering pedigree based relationships only. This can be attributed to the dense nature of genomic relationship matrices and their inverses. We outline a reparameterisation of the multivariate linear mixed model to principal components and its effects on the sparsity pattern of the pertaining coefficient matrix in the mixed model equations.

Unraveling the phenotypic and genomic background of behavioral plasticity and temperament in North American Angus cattle.

Background: Longitudinal records of temperament can be used for assessing behavioral plasticity, such as aptness to learn, memorize, or change behavioral responses based on affective state. In this study, we evaluated the phenotypic and genomic background of North American Angus cow temperament measured throughout their lifetime around the weaning season, including the development of a new indicator trait termed docility-based learning and behavioral plasticity. The analyses included 273,695 and 153,898 records for yearling (YT) and cow at weaning (CT) temperament, respectively, 723,248 animals in the pedigree, and 8784 genotyped animals.

Improving sow welfare and outcomes in the farrowing house by identifying early indicators from pre-farrowing assessment.

Poor outcomes reflect low performance during the farrowing and lactation periods and unanticipated sow removals. Since the period around farrowing has the highest risk for sow health issues, monitoring of sows in that time-period will improve both welfare and productivity. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant risk factors for predicting poor outcomes and the implication for sow welfare.

The role of honey in the ecology of the hive: Nutrition, detoxification, longevity, and protection against hive pathogens.

Honey is the source of energy for the European honey bee, . Beyond simple nutrition and a hedge against the seasonal, geographic, and chemical unpredictability of nectar, honey has properties that protect the hive against various stresses. Enzyme-mediated detoxification during honey ripening neutralizes potentially toxic phytochemicals, and bees that consume honey have enhanced tolerance to other ingested toxins.

What matters most to patients with severe aortic stenosis when choosing treatment? Framing the conversation for shared decision making.

Background: Guidelines recommend including the patient's values and preferences when choosing treatment for severe aortic stenosis (sAS). However, little is known about what matters most to patients as they develop treatment preferences. Our objective was to identify, prioritize, and organize patient-reported goals and features of treatment for sAS.

From Mendel to quantitative genetics in the genome era: the scientific legacy of W. G. Hill.

The quantitative geneticist W. G. ('Bill') Hill, awardee of the 2018 Darwin Medal of the Royal Society and the 2019 Mendel Medal of the Genetics Society (United Kingdom), died on 17 December 2021 at the age of 81 years.

Model definition for genetic evaluation of purebred and crossbred lambs including heterosis.

Crossbreeding is a common practice among commercial sheep producers to improve animal performance. However, genetic evaluation of U.S.